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CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE ACT 2010

THE CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE ACT, 2010
NO. 38 OF 2010
[21st September, 2010.]
An Act to provide for civil liability for nuclear damage and prompt compensation to the
victims
of a nuclear incident through a no-fault liability regime channeling liability
to the operator, appointment of Claims Commissioner,
establishment of Nuclear
Damage Claims Commission and for matters connected therewith or incidental
thereto.
BE it enacted by Parliament
in the Sixty-first Year of the Republic of India as
follows:--
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent, application and commencement.
- (1) This Act may be called the
Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It also
applies to nuclear damage suffered--
(a) in or over the maritime areas beyond the territorial waters of India;
(b) in or over the
exclusive economic zone of India as referred to in section 7 of
the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone
and Other
Maritime Zones Act, 1976;
(c) on board or by a ship registered in India under section 22 of the Merchant
Shipping Act, 1958 or under any other law for the time being in force;
(d) on board or by an aircraft registered in India under clause (d) of sub-section
(2) of section 5 of the Aircraft Act, 1934 or under any other law for the time being in
force;
(e) on or by an artificial island, installation or structure under the jurisdiction
of India.
(4) It applies only to the nuclear installation owned or controlled by the Central
Government either by itself or through
any authority or corporation established by it or a
Government company.
Explanation.--For the purposes of this sub-section, "Government
company" shall
have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (bb) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of
the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
(5) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by
notification, appoint; and different dates may be appointed
for different provisions of this
Act, and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be
construed
as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(a) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Commission appointed under
sub-section (1) of section 20;
(b) "Claims Commissioner"
means the Claims Commissioner appointed under
sub-section (2) of section 9;
(c) "Commission" means the Nuclear Damage Claims Commission
established under section 19;
(d) "environment" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (a) of
section 2 of the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986;
(e) "Member" means a Member of the Commission appointed under
sub-section (1) of section 20;
(f) "notification"
means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the
term "notify" shall be construed accordingly;
(g) "nuclear damage''
means--
(i) loss of life or personal injury (including immediate and long term
health impact) to a person; or
(ii) loss of, or damage
to, property,
caused by or arising out of a nuclear incident, and includes each of the following to
the extent notified by the Central
Government;
(iii) any economic loss, arising from the loss or damage referred to in
sub-clauses (i) or (ii) and not included in the
claims made under those
sub-clauses, if incurred by a person entitled to claim such loss or damage;
(iv) costs of measures of reinstatement
of impaired environment caused by
a nuclear incident, unless such impairment is insignificant, if such measures are
actually taken
or to be taken and not included in the claims made under
sub-clause (ii);
(v) loss of income derived from an economic interest in
any use or
enjoyment of the environment, incurred as a result of a significant impairment
of that environment caused by a nuclear
incident, and not included in the
claims under sub-clause (ii);
(vi) the costs of preventive measures, and further loss or damage
caused
by such measures;
(vii) any other economic loss, other than the one caused by impairment of
the environment referred to in
sub-clauses (iv) and (v), in so far as it is
permitted by the general law on civil liability in force in India and not claimed
under
any such law,
in the case of sub-clauses (i) to (v) and (vii) above, to the extent the loss or damage
arises out of, or results from,
ionizing radiation emitted by any source of radiation
inside a nuclear installation, or emitted from nuclear fuel or radioactive
products or
waste in, or of, nuclear material coming from, originating in, or sent to, a nuclear
installation, whether so arising
from the radioactive properties of such matter, or
from a combination of radioactive properties with toxic, explosive or other
hazardous
properties of such matter;
(h) "nuclear fuel" means any material which is capable of producing energy by
a self-sustaining chain
process of nuclear fission;
(i) "nuclear incident" means any occurrence or series of occurrences having
the same origin which causes
nuclear damage or, but only with respect to preventive
measures, creates a grave and imminent threat of causing such damage;
(j)
"nuclear installation" means--
(A) any nuclear reactor other than one with which a means of transport is
equipped for use as a source
of power, whether for propulsion thereof or for
any other purpose;
(B) any facility using nuclear fuel for the production of nuclear
material,
or any facility for the processing of nuclear material, including re-processing of
irradiated nuclear fuel; and
(C) any
facility where nuclear material is stored (other than storage
incidental to the carriage of such material).
Explanation.--For the
purpose of this clause, several nuclear installations of
one operator which are located at the same site shall be considered as a
single
nuclear installation;
(k) "nuclear material" means and includes--
(i) nuclear fuel (other than natural uranium or depleted uranium) capable
of producing
energy by a self-sustaining chain process of nuclear fission
outside a nuclear reactor, either by itself or in combination with some
other
material; and
(ii) radioactive products or waste;
(l) "nuclear reactor" means any structure containing nuclear fuel in such
an
arrangement that a self-sustaining chain process of nuclear fission can occur therein
without an additional source of neutrons;
(m) "operator", in relation to a nuclear installation, means the Central
Government or any authority or corporation established by
it or a Government
company who has been granted a licence pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962
for the operation of that installation;
(n) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(o) "preventive measures"
means any reasonable measures taken by a person
after a nuclear incident has occurred to prevent or minimise damage referred to in
sub-clauses (i) to (v) and (vii) of clause (g), subject to the approval of the Central
Government;
(p) "radioactive products or waste"
means any radioactive material produced
in, or any material made radioactive by exposure to, the radiation incidental to the
production
or utilisation of nuclear fuel, but does not include radioisotopes which
have reached the final stage of fabrication so as to be
usable for any scientific,
medical, agricultural, commercial or industrial purpose;
(q) "Special Drawing Rights" means Special Drawing
Rights as determined by
the International Monetary Fund.
CHAPTER II
LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE
3. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
to notify nuclear incident. - (1) The Atomic
Energy Regulatory Board constituted under the Atomic Energy
Act, 1962 shall, within a period of fifteen days from the date of occurrence of a nuclear
incident, notify such nuclear incident:
Provided
that where the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board is satisfied that the
gravity of threat and risk involved in a nuclear incident is
insignificant, it shall not be
required to notify such nuclear incident.
(2) The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board shall, immediately
after the notification
under sub-section (1) is issued, cause wide publicity to be given to the occurrence of such
nuclear incident,
in such manner as it may deem fit.
4. Liability of operator. - (1) The operator of the nuclear installation shall be liable for
nuclear
damage caused by a nuclear incident --
(a) in that nuclear installation; or
(b) involving nuclear material coming from, or originating
in, that nuclear
installation and occurring before --
(i) the liability for nuclear incident involving such nuclear material has
been assumed, pursuant to a written agreement, by another operator; or
(ii) another operator has taken charge of such nuclear material;
or
(iii) the person duly authorised to operate a nuclear reactor has taken
charge of the nuclear material intended to be used in
that reactor with which
means of transport is equipped for use as a source of power, whether for
propulsion thereof or for any other
purpose; or
(iv) such nuclear material has been unloaded from the means of transport
by which it was sent to a person within the
territory of a foreign State; or
(c) involving nuclear material sent to that nuclear installation and occurring
after--
(i) the liability
for nuclear incident involving such nuclear material has
been transferred to that operator, pursuant to a written agreement, by the
operator of another nuclear installation; or
(ii) that operator has taken charge of such nuclear material; or
(iii) that operator
has taken charge of such nuclear material from a person
operating a nuclear reactor with which a means of transport is equipped for
use
as a source of power, whether for propulsion thereof or for any other purpose;
or
(iv) such nuclear material has been loaded,
with the written consent of
that operator, on the means of transport by which it is to be carried from the
territory of a foreign
State.
(2) Where more than one operator is liable for nuclear damage, the liability of the
operators so involved shall, in so far
as the damage attributable to each operator is not
separable, be joint and several:
Provided that the total liability of such operators
shall not exceed the extent of
liability specified under sub-section (2) of section 6.
(3) Where several nuclear installations of
one and the same operator are involved in
a nuclear incident, such operator shall, in respect of each such nuclear installation,
be
liable to the extent of liability specified under sub-section (2) of section 6.
(4) The liability of the operator of the nuclear
installation shall be strict and shall be
based on the principle of no-fault liability.
Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section,--
(a) where nuclear damage is caused by a nuclear incident occurring in a nuclear
installation on account of temporary storage of material-in-transit
in such
installation, the person responsible for transit of such material shall be deemed to be
the operator;
(b) where a nuclear
damage is caused as a result of nuclear incident during the
transportation of nuclear material, the consignor shall be deemed to
be the operator;
(c) where any written agreement has been entered into between the consignor
and the consignee or, as the case may
be, the consignor and the carrier of nuclear
material, the person liable for any nuclear damage under such agreement shall be
deemed
to be the operator;
(d) where both nuclear damage and damage other than nuclear damage have
been caused by a nuclear incident or,
jointly by a nuclear incident and one or more
other occurrences, such other damage shall, to the extent it is not separable from
the
nuclear damage, be deemed to be a nuclear damage caused by such nuclear incident.
5. Operator not liable in certain circumstances. - (1) An operator shall
not be liable
for any nuclear damage where such damage is caused by a nuclear incident directly due
to--
(i) a grave natural disaster
of an exceptional character; or
(ii) an act of armed conflict, hostility, civil war, insurrection or terrorism.
(2) An operator shall
not be liable for any nuclear damage caused to--
(i) the nuclear installation itself and any other nuclear installation including
a
nuclear installation under construction, on the site where such installation is located;
and
(ii) to any property on the same site
which is used or to be used in connection
with any such installation; or
(iii) to the means of transport upon which the nuclear material
involved was
carried at the time of nuclear incident:
Provided that any compensation liable to be paid by an operator for a nuclear
damage shall not have the effect of reducing the amount of his liability in respect of
any other claim for damage under any other
law for the time being in force.
(3) Where any nuclear damage is suffered by a person on account of his own
negligence or from his
own acts of commission or omission, the operator shall not be
liable to such person.
!
6. Limits of liability. - (1) The maximum
amount of liability in respect of each nuclear
incident shall be the rupee equivalent of three hundred million Special Drawing Rights
or
such higher amount as the Central Government may specify by notification:
Provided that the Central Government may take additional
measures, where
necessary, if the compensation to be awarded under this Act exceeds the amount
specified under this sub-section.
(2) The liability of an operator for each nuclear incident shall be--
(a) in respect of nuclear reactors having thermal power equal
to or above ten
MW, rupees one thousand five hundred crores;
(b) in respect of spent fuel reprocessing plants, rupees three hundred
crores;
(c) in respect of the research reactors having thermal power below ten MW,
fuel cycle facilities other than spent fuel reprocessing
plants and transportation of
nuclear materials, rupees one hundred crores:
Provided that the Central Government may review the amount
of operator's liability
from time to time and specify, by notification, a higher amount under this sub-section:
Provided further
that the amount of liability shall not include any interest or cost of
proceedings.
7. Liability of Central Government. - (1) The
Central Government shall be liable
for nuclear damage in respect of a nuclear incident, --
(a) where the liability exceeds the amount
of liability of an operator specified
under sub-section (2) of section 6, to the extent such liability exceeds such liability
of
the operator;
(b) occurring in a nuclear installation owned by it; and
(c) occurring on account of causes specified in clauses (i)
and (ii) of
sub-section (1) of section 5:
Provided that the Central Government may, by notification, assume full liability for
a
nuclear installation not operated by it if it is of the opinion that it is necessary in public
interest.
(2) For the purpose of meeting
part of its liability under clause (a) or clause (c) of
sub-section (1), the Central Government may establish a fund to be called
the Nuclear
Liability Fund by charging such amount of levy from the operators, in such manner, as
may be prescribed.
8. Operator
to maintain insurance or financial securities. - (1) The operator shall, before
he begins operation of his nuclear installation,
take out insurance policy or such other
financial security or combination of both, covering his liability under sub-section (2) of
section 6, in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The operator shall from time to time renew the insurance policy or other
financial
security referred to in sub-section (1), before the expiry of the period of validity
thereof.
(3) The provisions of sub-sections
(1) and (2) shall not apply to a nuclear installation
owned by the Central Government.
Explanation.--For the purposes of this section, "financial security" means a contract
of indemnity or guarantee, or shares or bonds or such instrument as may be prescribed or
any combination thereof.
CHAPTER III
CLAIMS
COMMISSIONER
9. Compensation for nuclear damage and its adjudication. - (1) Whoever suffers nuclear
damage shall be entitled to claim
compensation in accordance with the provisions of this
Act.
(2) For the purposes of adjudicating upon claims for compensation in
respect of nuclear
damage, the Central Government shall, by notification, appoint one or more Claims
Commissioners for such area,
as may be specified in that notification.
10. Qualifications for appointment as Claims Commissioner. - A person shall not be
qualified
for appointment as a Claims Commissioner unless he--
(a) is, or has been, a District Judge; or
(b) in the service of the Central
Government and has held the post not below the
rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India or any other equivalent
post
in the Central Government.
11. Salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of Claims
Commissioner. - The salary
and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions
of service of Claims Commissioner shall be such as may be prescribed.
12.
Adjudication procedure and powers of Claims Commissioner. - (1) For the purposes
of adjudication of claims under this Act, the Claims
Commissioner shall follow such
procedure as may be prescribed.
(2) For the purpose of holding inquiry, the Claims Commissioner may
associate
with him such persons having expertise in the nuclear field or such other persons and in
such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) Where any person is associated under sub-section (2), he shall be paid such
remuneration, fee or allowance, as may be prescribed.
(4) The Claims Commissioner shall, for the purposes of discharging his functions
under this Act, have the same powers as are vested
in a civil court under the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908, while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:--
(a)
summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining
him on oath;
(b) the discovery and production of documents;
(c)
receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) requisitioning any public record or copies thereof from any court or office;
(e) issuing of
commission for the examination of any witness;
(f) any other matter which may be prescribed.
(5) The Claims Commissioner shall be
deemed to be a civil court for the purposes
of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
CHAPTER IV
CLAIMS
AND AWARDS
13. Inviting application for claims by Claims Commissioner. - After the notification of
nuclear incident under sub-section
(1) of section 3, the Claims Commissioner, having
jurisdiction over the area, shall cause wide publicity to be given, in such manner
as he
deems fit, for inviting applications for claiming compensation for nuclear damage.
14. Person entitled to make application
for nuclear damage. - An application for
compensation before the Claims Commissioner or the Commission, as the case may be,
in respect
of nuclear damage may be made by--
(a) a person who has sustained injury; or
(b) the owner of the property to which damage has been
caused; or
(c) the legal representatives of the deceased; or
(d) any agent duly authorised by such person or owner or legal representatives.
15. Procedure for making application before Claims Commissioner. - (1) Every
application for compensation before the Claims Commissioner
for nuclear damage shall
be made in such form, containing such particulars and accompanied by such documents,
as may be prescribed.
(2) Subject to the provisions of section 18, every application under sub-section (1)
shall be made within a period of three years
from the date of knowledge of nuclear
damage by the person suffering such damage.
16. Award by Claims Commissioner. - (1) On receipt
of an application under sub-section
(1) of section 15, the Claims Commissioner shall, after giving notice of such application
to the operator and affording an
opportunity of being heard to the parties, dispose of the
application within a period of three months from the date of such receipt
and make an
award accordingly.
(2) While making an award under this section, the Claims Commissioner shall not
take into consideration
any benefit, reimbursement or amount received by the applicant in
pursuance of contract of insurance taken by him or for members
of his family or
otherwise.
(3) Where an operator is likely to remove or dispose of his property with the object
of evading payment
by him of the amount of the award, the Claims Commissioner 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, grant a temporary injunction to restrain such act.
(4) The Claims Commissioner
shall arrange to deliver copies of the award to the
parties within a period of fifteen days from the date of the award.
(5) Every
award made under sub-section (1) shall be final.
17. Operator's right of recourse. - The operator of the nuclear installation, after
paying
the compensation for nuclear damage in accordance with section 6, shall have a right of
recourse where--
(a) such right is
expressly provided for in a contract in writing;
(b) the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or
his
employee, which includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent
defects or sub-standard services;
(c) the nuclear
incident has resulted from the act of commission or omission of an
individual done with the intent to cause nuclear damage.
18. Extinction
of right to claim. - The right to claim compensation for nuclear damage
shall extinguish, if such claim is not made within a period
of--
(a) ten years, in the case of damage to property;
(b) twenty years, in the case of personal injury to any person,
from the date
of occurrence of the incident notified under sub-section (1) of section 3:
Provided that where a nuclear damage is caused by a nuclear
incident involving
nuclear material which, prior to such nuclear incident, had been stolen, lost, jettisoned or
abandoned, the said
period of ten years shall be computed from the date of such nuclear
incident, but, in no case, it shall exceed a period of twenty
years from the date of such
theft, loss, jettison or abandonment.
CHAPTER V
NUCLEAR DAMAGE CLAIMS COMMISSION
19. Establishment of
Nuclear Damage Claims Commission. - Where the Central
Government, having regard to the injury or damage caused by a nuclear incident,
is of the
opinion that it is expedient in public interest that such claims for such damage be
adjudicated by the Commission instead
of a Claims Commissioner, it may, by
notification, establish a Commission for the purpose of this Act.
20. Composition of Commission.
- (1) The Commission shall consist of a Chairperson
and such other Members, not exceeding six, as the Central Government may, by
notification, appoint.
(2) The Chairperson and other Members of the Commission shall be appointed on
the recommendation of a Selection
Committee consisting of three experts from amongst
the persons having at least thirty years of experience in nuclear science and
a retired
Supreme Court Judge.
(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Chairperson of the
Commission unless he
has attained the age of fifty-five years and is or has been or
qualified to be a Judge of a High Court:
Provided that no appointment
of a sitting judge shall be made except after
consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
(4) A person shall not be qualified for
appointment as a Member unless he has
attained the age of fifty-five years and--
(a) has held or is holding or qualified to hold,
the post of Additional Secretary
to the Government of India or any other equivalent post in the Central Government
andpossesses special
knowledge in law relating to nuclear liability arising out of
nuclear incident; or
(b) has been a Claims Commissioner for five years.
21. Term of office. - The
Chairperson or a Member, as the case may be, shall hold office
as such for a term of three years from the date on which he enters
upon his office and
shall be eligible for re-appointment for another term of three years:
Provided that no person shall hold office
as such Chairperson or Member after he has
attained the age of sixty-seven years.
22. Salary, allowances and other terms and conditions
of service of Chairperson and
Members. - The salary and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of
service, including
pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits, of the Chairperson and
other Members shall be such as may be prescribed:
Provided
that no salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of the
Chairperson or other Members shall be varied to his disadvantage
after his appointment.
23. Filling up of vacancies. - If, for reasons other than temporary absence, any vacancy
occurs in the office
of the Chairperson or Member, as the case may be, the Central
Government shall appoint another person in accordance with the provisions
of this Act to
fill such vacancy and the proceedings may be continued before the Commission from the
stage at which it was, before
the vacancy is filled.
24. Resignation and removal. - (1) The Chairperson or a Member may, by a notice in
writing under his hand
addressed to the Central Government, resign his office:
Provided that the Chairperson or the Member shall, unless he is permitted
by the Central
Government to relinquish his office sooner, continue to hold office until the expiry of
three months from the date
of receipt of such notice or until a person duly appointed as
his successor enters upon his office or until the expiry of his term
of office, whichever is
earlier.
(2) The Central Government shall remove from office the Chairperson or a Member who
--
(a) has been
adjudged an insolvent; or
(b) has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central
Government, involves moral turpitude;
or
(c) has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a Member; or
(d) has acquired such financial or other interest as
is likely to affect
prejudicially his functions as a Member; or
(e) has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office
detrimental
to the public interest:
Provided that no Member shall be removed under clause (d) or clause (e) unless he
has been given
an opportunity of being heard in the matter.
25. Chairperson or Member deemed to retire from service. - A person who, immediately
before the date of assuming office as a Chairperson or a Member, was in service of the
Government, shall be deemed to have retired
from service on the date on which he enters
upon office as such, but his subsequent service as the Chairperson or a Member shall
be
reckoned as continuing approved service counting for pension in service to which he
belonged.
26. Suspension of pension. - If
a person who, immediately before the date of assuming
office as the Chairperson or a Member was in receipt of or being eligible so
to do, has
opted to draw, a pension, other than a disability or wound pension, in respect of any
previous service under the Central
Government, his salary in respect of service as the
Chairperson or a Member shall be reduced--
(a) by the amount of that pension;
and
(b) if he had, before assuming office, received, in lieu of a portion of the
pension due to him in respect of such previous service,
the commuted value thereof,
by the amount of that portion of the pension.
27. Prohibition of acting as arbitrator. - No person shall,
while holding office as a
Chairperson or a Member, act as an arbitrator in any matter.
28. Prohibition of practice. - On ceasing
to hold office, the Chairperson or a Member
shall not appear, act or plead before the Commission.
29. Powers of Chairperson. - The
Chairperson shall have the power of superintendence in
the general administration of the Commission and exercise such powers as may be
prescribed.
30. Officers and
other employees of Commission. - (1) The Central Government shall
provide the Commission with such officers and other employees as
it may deem fit.
(2) The salary and allowances payable to and the terms and other conditions of
service of officers and other employees
of the Commission shall be such as may be
prescribed.
31. Application for compensation before Commission. - (1) Every application
for
compensation before the Commission for nuclear damage shall be made in such form,
containing such particulars and accompanied
by such documents, as may be prescribed.
(2) Subject to the provisions of section 18, every application under sub-section (1) shall
be made within a period of three years from the date of knowledge of nuclear damage by
the person suffering such damage.
32. Adjudication
procedure and powers of Commission. - (1) The Commission shall
have original jurisdiction to adjudicate upon every application for
compensation filed
before it under sub-section (1) of section 31 or transferred to it under section 33, as the
case may be.
(2) Upon
transfer of cases to the Commission under section 33, the Commission
shall hear such applications from the stage at which it was
before such transfer.
(3) The Chairperson may constitute benches comprising of not more than three
Members of the Commission for
the purpose of hearing of claims and any decision
thereon shall be rendered by a majority of the Members hearing such claims.
(4)
The Commission shall not be bound by the procedure laid down in the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 but shall be guided by the principles
of natural justice and subject
to the other provisions of this Act and of any rules made thereunder, the Commission
shall have the
power to regulate its own procedure including the places and the times at
which it shall have its sittings.
(5) The Commission shall
have, for the purposes of discharging its functions under
this Act, the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code
of Civil Procedure,
1908, while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:--
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance
of any person and examining
him on oath;
(b) the discovery and production of documents;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d)
requisitioning any public record or copies thereof from any court or office;
(e) issuing of commission for the examination of any
witness;
(f) any other matter which may be prescribed.
(6) The Commission shall, after giving notice of application to the operator
and after
affording an opportunity of being heard to the parties, dispose of such application within
a period of three months from
the date of such receipt and make an award accordingly.
(7) While making an award under this section, the Commission shall not take
into
consideration any benefit, reimbursement or amount received by the applicant in
pursuance of any contract of insurance or otherwise.
(8) Where an operator is likely to remove or dispose of his property with the object
of evading payment by him of the amount of the
award, the Commission 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, grant a temporary injunction to restrain such act.
(9) The Commission shall arrange to deliver copies of the
award to the parties
concerned within a period of fifteen days from the date of such award.
(10) Every award made under sub-section
(6) shall be final.
33. Transfer of pending cases to Commission. - Every application for compensation
pending before the Claims Commissioner
immediately before the date of establishment
of the Commission under section 19 shall stand transferred on that date to the
Commission.
34. Proceedings before Claims Commissioner or Commission to be judicial proceedings.
- Every proceeding before the Claims Commissioner
or the Commission under this Act
shall be deemed to be judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and
228 of, and for the purposes of
section 196 of, the Indian Penal Code.
35. Exclusion of jurisdiction of civil courts. - Save as otherwise provided in section 46,
no civil court (except the Supreme Court and a High Court exercising jurisdiction under
articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution)
shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or
proceedings in respect of any matter which the Claims Commissioner or the Commission,
as the case may be, is empowered to adjudicate under this Act and no injunction shall be
granted by any court or other authority
in respect of any action taken or to be taken in
pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act.
36. Enforcement of awards.
- (1) When an award is made under sub-section (1) of
section 16 or under sub-section (6) of section 32, --
(a) the insurer or any
person, as the case may be, who under the contract of
insurance or financial security under section 8 is required to pay any amount
in
terms of such award and to the extent of his liability under such contract, shall
deposit that amount within such time and in
such manner as the Claims
Commissioner or the Commission, as the case may be, may direct; and
(b) the operator shall, subject to
the maximum liability specified under sub-
section (2) of section 6, deposit the remaining amount by which such award
exceeds the
amount deposited under clause (a).
(2) Where any person referred to in sub-section (1) fails to deposit the amount of
award within
the period specified in the award, such amount shall be recoverable from
such person as arrears of land revenue.
(3) The amount deposited
under sub-section (1) shall be disbursed to such person as
may be specified in the award within a period of fifteen days from the
date of such
deposit.
37. Annual report. - The Commission shall prepare, in such form and at such time in
each financial year, as
may be prescribed, an annual report giving full account of its
activities during that financial year and submit a copy thereof to
the Central Government
which shall cause the same to be laid before each House of Parliament.
38. Dissolution of Commission in certain
circumstances. - (1) Where the Central
Government is satisfied that the purpose for which the Commission established under
section
19 has served its purpose, or where the number of cases pending before such
Commission is so less that it would not justify the cost
of its continued function, or where
it considers necessary or expedient so to do, the Central Government may, by
notification, dissolve
the Commission.
(2) With effect from the date of notification of dissolution of Commission under
sub-section (1), --
(a) the proceeding,
if any, pending before the Commission as on the date of
such notification shall be transferred to the Claims Commissioner to be appointed
by
the Central Government under sub-section (2) of section 9;
(b) the Chairperson and all Members of the Commission shall be deemed
to
have vacated their offices as such and they shall not be entitled to any compensation
for premature termination of their office;
(c) officers and other employees of the Commission shall be transferred to such
other authority or offices of the Central Government,
in such manner, as may be
prescribed:
Provided that the officers and other employees so transferred, shall be entitled
to the same
terms and conditions of service as would have been held by them in the
Commission:
Provided further that where an officer or an employee
of the Commission
refuses to join the services in such other authority or office, he shall be deemed to
have resigned and shall not
be entitled to any compensation for premature
termination of contract of service;
(d) all assets and liabilities of the Commission
shall vest in the Central
Government.
(3) Notwithstanding the dissolution of the Commission under sub-section (1),
anything done
or any action taken or purported to have been done or taken including any
order made or notice issued or any appointment, confirmation or declaration made or any
document
or instrument executed or any direction given by the Commission before such
dissolution, shall be deemed to have been validly done
or taken.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the Central Government to
establish the Commission subsequent
to the dissolution of the Commission in accordance
with the provisions of this Act.
CHAPTER VI
OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
39. Offences
and penalties. - (1) Whoever--
(a) contravenes any rule made or any direction issued under this Act; or
(b) fails to comply with
the provisions of section 8; or
(c) fails to deposit the amount under section 36,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to five years or with
fine or with both.
(2) Whoever fails to comply with any direction issued under section 43
or obstructs any
authority or person in the exercise of his powers under this Act shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term
which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.
40. Offences by companies. - (1) Where an offence under this Act has been
committed
by a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed, was directly in
charge of, and was responsible to,
the company for the conduct of the business of the
company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and
shall
be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render
any such person
liable to any punishment under this Act, if he proves that the offence was committed
without his knowledge or that
he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of
such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),
where any offence under
this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been
committed with the consent
or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part
of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company,
such director,
manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and
shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly.
Explanation. -- For the purposes of this section,--
(a) "company" means any body corporate and
includes a firm or other
association of individuals;
(b) "director", in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
41. Offences
by Government Departments. - Where an offence under this Act has been
committed by any Department of the Government, the Head of
the Department shall be
deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this section shall render such Head of the Department
liable to any punishment if he proves that
the offence was committed without his
knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such
offence.
42. Cognizance of offences. - No court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a
Judicial Magistrate of the first class
shall try any offence under this Act:
Provided that cognizance of such offence shall not be taken except on a complaint
made by the
Central Government or any authority or officer authorised in this behalf by
that Government.
CHAPTER VII
MISCELLANEOUS
43. Power
to give directions. - The Central Government may, in exercise of its powers
and performance of its functions under this Act, issue
such directions, as it may deem fit,
for the purposes of this Act, to any operator, person, officer, authority or body and such
operator,
person, officer, authority or body shall be bound to comply with such
directions.
44. Power to call for information. - The Central
Government may call for such
information from an operator as it may deem necessary.
45. Exemption from application of this Act. -
The Central Government may, by
notification, exempt any nuclear installation from the application of this Act where,
having regard to small quantity of nuclear material, it is of the
opinion that the risk
involved is insignificant.
46. Act to be in addition to any other law. - The provisions of this Act shall be
in
addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force, and
nothing contained herein shall exempt the
operator from any proceeding which might,
apart from this Act, be instituted against such operator.
47. Protection of action taken
in good faith. - No suit, prosecution or other legal
proceedings shall lie against the Central Government or the person, officer
or authority in
respect of anything done by it or him in good faith in pursuance of this Act or of any rule
or order made, or direction
issued, thereunder.
48. Power to make rules. - (1) The Central Government may, by notification, make
rules for carrying out the purposes
of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers
such rules may provide for --
(a)
the other financial security and the manner thereof under sub-section (1) of
section 8;
(b) the salary and allowances payable to
and the other terms and conditions of
service of Claims Commissioner under section 11;
(c) the procedure to be followed by Claims
Commissioner under sub-section
(1) of section 12;
(d) the person to be associated by Claims Commissioner and the manner
thereof,
under sub-section (2) of section 12;
(e) the remuneration, fee or allowances of associated person under sub-section
(3) of section
12;
(f) any other matter under clause (f) of sub-section (4) of section 12;
(g) the form of application, the particulars it shall
contain and the documents it
shall accompany, under sub-section (1) of section 15;
(h) the salary and allowances payable to and other
terms and conditions of
service of Chairperson and other Members, under section 22;
(i) the powers of Chairperson under section 29;
(j) the salary and allowances payable to and the terms and other conditions of
service of officers and other employees of the Commission,
under sub-section (2) of
section 30;
(k) the form of application, the particulars it shall contain and the documents it
shall accompany,
under sub-section (1) of section 31;
(l) any other matter under clause (f) of sub-section (5) of section 32;
(m) the form and the
time for preparing annual report by the Commission
under section 37;
(n) the manner of transfer of officers and other employees of
the Commission
under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 38.
(3) Every rule made under this Act by the Central Government shall
be laid, as soon
as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a
total period of thirty
days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more
successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately
following the
session or successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification
in the rule or both Houses agree
that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter
have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case
may be; so,
however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the
validity of anything previously done
under that rule.
49. Power to remove difficulties. - (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the
provisions of this Act,
the Central Government may, by order published in the Official
Gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act, as appear
to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:
Provided that no order shall be made under
this section after the expiry of three
years from the commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall, as
soon as may be after it is made, be
laid before each House of Parliament.
V. K. BHASIN,
Secy. to the Govt. of India.