law: National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995
  2. Definitions
  In this Act, unless the context otherwise
  
  requires,-
  (a) "accident" means an accident
  
  involving a fortuitous or sudden or unintended occurrence while handling any
  
  hazardous substance resulting in continuous or intermittent or repeated exposure
  
  to death of, or injury to, any person or damage to any property or environment
  
  but does not includes an accident by reason only of war or radio-activity;
  (b) "Bench" means a Bench of the
  
  Tribunal;
  (c) "Chairperson" means the
  
  Chairperson of the Tribunal;
  (d) "environment" includes water,
  
  air and land and the inter-relationship which exists among and between water,
  
  air and land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism
  
  and property;
  (e) "handling", in relation to any hazardous
  
  substance, means the manufacture, processing, treatment, package, storage,
  
  transportation by vehicle, use, collection, destruction, conversion, offering
  
  for sale, transfer or the like of such hazardous substance;
  (f) "hazardous substance" means any
  
  substance or preparation which is defined as hazardous substance in the
  
  Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and exceeding such quantity as specified by
  
  the Central Government under the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;
  (g) "Judicial Member" means a Member
  
  of the Tribunal appointed as such under this Act, and includes the Chairpersons
  
  or a Vice-Chairperson who possesses any of the qualifications specified in
  
  sub-section (3) of section 10;
  (h) "Member" means a Member (whether
  
  Judicial or Technical) of the Tribunal and includes the Chairperson and
  
  Vice-Chairperson;
  ( i ) " notification " means a notification published in the
  
  Official Gazette;
  (j) " prescribed "
  
  means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
  (k) " rules "
  
  means the rules made under this Act;
  (l) "Technical Member" means a
  
  Member of the Tribunal who is not a Judicial Member within the meaning of
  
  clause (g);
  (m) "Tribunal" means the National
  
  Environment Tribunal established under section 8;
  (n) "Vice-Chairperson" means the
  
  Vice-Chairperson of the Tribunal.
  Explanation- In the case of the
  
  Tribunal having two or more Vice-Chairpersons, references to the
  
  Vice-Chairperson in this Act shall be construed as a reference to each of those
  
  Vice-Chairpersons;
  (o) " owner "
  
  means a person who owns, or has 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.