AS PASSED BY LOK SABHA ON
11TH MARCH, 1992.
Bill No. 31-C of 1992
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THE PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 1992
A
BILL
to amend the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991.
Be it enacted by parliament in the Forty-third Year of the
Republic of India as follows:-
Short title and commencement.
1. (i) This Act may be called the Public Liability Insurance
(Amendment) Act, 1992.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 31st day of
January, 1992
Amendment of section 2.
2. In section; 2 of the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 (6
of 1991) (herein-after referred to as the principal Act,--
(i) for clause (a), the following clause shall be substituted,
namely:--
'(a) "accident" means and accident involving a fortuitous or
sudden or unintended occurrence while handing any hazardous substance
resulting in continuous or intermittent or repeated exposure to death
of, or injury to, any person or damage to any property bu does not
include an accident by reason only of war or radio-activity;';
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(ii) for clause (g), the following clause shall be substituted,
namely:-
(g) "owner" means a person who owns, or h as control over
handling, any hazardous substance at the time of accident and
includes,--
(i) in the case of a firm, any of its partners;
(ii) in the case of an association, any of its members; and
(iii) in the case of a company, any of its directors, managers,
secretaries or other officers who is directly in charge of, and is
responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the
company;
(iii) after clause (h), the following clause shall be inserted,
namely:--
'(ha)) "Relief Fund" means the Environmental Relief Fund
established under section 7A;'.
Amendment of section 4.
3. In section 4 of the principal Act, after sub-section (2), the
following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:--
'(2A) No insurance policy taken out or renewed by an owner shall
be for an amount less than the amount of the paid-up capital of the
undertaking handling any hazardous substance and owned or controlled
by that owner, and more than the amount, not exceeding fifty crore
rupees, as may be prescribed.
Explanation.--For the purposes of this sub-section, "paid-up
capital" means, in the case of an owner not being a company, the
market value of all assets and stocks of the undertaking on the data
of contract of insurance.
(2B) The liability of the insurer under one insurance policy
shall not exceed the amount specified in the terms of the contract of
insurance in that insurance policy.
(2C) Every owner shall also, together with the amount of premium,
pay to the insurer, for being credited to the Relief Fund established
under section 7A, such further amount, not exceeding the sum
equivalent to the amount of premium, as may be prescribed.
(2D) The insurer shall remit to the authority specified in
subsection (3) of section 7A the amount received from the owner under
sub-section (2C) for being credited to the Relief Fund in such manner
and within such period as may be prescribed and where the insurer
fails to so remit that amount, it shall be recoverable from the
insurer as arrears of land revenue or of public demand.'
Amendment of section 7.
4. In section 7 of the principal Act,--
(a) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be
substituted, namely:-
"(3) When an award is made under this section,-
(a) the insures, who is required to pay any amount in 45 terms of
such award and to the extent specified in sub-section (2B) of section
4, shall, within a period of thirty days of the date of announcement
of the award, deposit that amount in such manner as the Collector may
direct;
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(b) the Collector shall arrange to pay from the Relief Fund, in
terms of such award and in accordance with the scheme made under
section 7A, to t he person or persons referred to in sub-section (1)
such amount as may be specified in that scheme;
(c) the owner shall, within such period, deposit such amount in
such manner as the Collector may direct.";
(b) after sub-section (7), the following sub-section shall be
inserted, namely:-
"(8) Where an owner is likely to remove or dispose of his
property with the object of evading payment by him of any amount of
the award, the Collector may, in accordance with the provisions of
rules 1 to 4 of Order XXXIX of the First Schedule to the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908.), grant a temporary injunction t restrain
such act.".
Insertion of new section 7A.
5. After section 7 of the principal Act, the following section
shall be inserted, namely:-
Establishment of Environmental Relief Fund.
"7A. (1) The Central Government may, by notification, establish a
fund to be known as the Environmental Relief Fund.
(2) The Relief Fund shall be utilised for paying, in accordance
with the provisions of this Act and the scheme made under sub-section
(3), relief under the award made by the Collector under section 7.
(3) The Central Government may, by notification, make a scheme
specifying the authority in which the Relief Fund shall vest, the
manner in which the Relief Fund shall be administered, the form and
the manner in which money shall be drawn from the Relief Fund and for
all other matters connected with or incidental to the administration
of the Relief Fund and the payment of relief therefrom.".
Amendment of section 14.
6. In section 14 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), for
the words, brackets and figures, "sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)"
the words, brackets, figures and letters "sub-section (1) or sub-
section (2) or sub-section (2A) or sub-section (2C)" shall be
substituted.
Amendment of section 23.
7. In section 23 of the principal Act,--
(a) in sub-section (2),--
(i) clause (a) shall be re-lettered as clause (ac);
(ii) before clause (ac), as so re-lettered, the following clauses
shall be inserted, namely:-
"(a) the maximum amount for which an insurance policy may be
taken out by an owner under sub-section (2A) of section 4;
(aa) the amount required to be paid by every owner for being
credited to the Relief Fund under sub-section (2C) of section 4;
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(ab) the manner in which and the period within which the amount
received from the owner is required to be remitted by the insurer
under sub-section (2D) of section 4;"
(b) in sub-section (3), for the word "rule", wherever it occurs,
the words "rule or scheme" shall be substituted.
Repeal and saving.
8. (1) The Public Liability Insurance (Amendment) Ordinance, 1992
(Ord. 6 of 1992.) is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action
taken under the principal Act, as amended by the said Ordinance, shall
be deemed to have been done or taken under the principal Act, as
amended by this Act.