As per a PTI alert on November 6, The Supreme Court of India (SC) has stated that drivers holding a light motor vehicle or LMV licence can also drive transport vehicles with weight up to 7,500 kg.
Supreme Court Rules LMV Licence Holders Can Drive Transport Vehicles Up to 7,500 kg
The Supreme Court, in its ruling, stated that there is no empirical evidence linking LMV driving licence holders to the increase in road accidents across the country. Justice Hrishikesh Roy, who authored the unanimous verdict on behalf of the four-judge constitutional bench, which included Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, highlighted that the matter concerns the livelihood of drivers holding LMV licences.
Justice Hrishikesh Roy wrote that “There is no empirical data to suggest that LMV driving licence holders are responsible for the rise in road accidents in the country. These licence holders, who spend the most time behind the wheel, are seeking a response from the court, and their grievances cannot be dismissed on technical grounds.”.
The bench, in addition to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hrishikesh Roy, also included Justices PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal, and Manoj Misra.
As per the report, The judgement largely comes as ease for commercial vehicle drivers, and is a stun to insurance companies which had been rejecting claims if accidents taking part in transport vehicles of a particular weight and if the drivers were not authorised to drive them as per legal agreement.
The issue has been a long-standing dispute, with insurance firms claiming that the motor accident claims tribunals (MACTs) and courts have been issuing orders for them to pay insurance claims, often ignoring their objections concerning the LMV driving licence.
The insurance firms had stated The courts have been approving a pro-insured approach while deciding insurance claim disputes.
SC to Decide on Validity of LMV Licence for Driving Transport Vehicles Under MV Act
According to a PTI report, the legal question before the Supreme Court was if a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle (LMV) is also entitled to drive a transport vehicle with an unloaded weight not overtaking 7,500 kg.
After Attorney General R. Venkataramani, representing the Centre, informed the bench that consultations to change the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988, were “almost complete,” the bench reserved its verdict on the issue on August 21.
On March 8, 2022, a three-judge bench led by Justice U.U. Lalit (since retired) mentioned the question to a larger bench. The issue come from the Supreme Court’s 2017 verdict in the case of Mukund Dewangan versus Oriental Insurance Company Limited.
The Constitution bench began hearing a total of 76 petitions on July 18 last year to address the legal question. The lead petition was filed by M/s Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited.
