The Public Liability Insurance Act 1991 has been enacted to provide for public liability insurance for the purpose of providing immediate relief to the persons affected by accident occurring while handling any hazardous substance and for connected and incidental matters. The act envisages liability on the part of the owner to give relief in certain cases on principles of no fault and duty to take out insurance policies. Here, ‘owner’ means a person who owns, or has control over handling, any hazardous substance at the time of accident. In exercise of the powers conferred by the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, the Central Government has formulated the Public Liability Insurance Rules, 1991 to implement the provisions of the said act.
