SC permits LMV driving licence holders to drive transport vehicles with weight up to 7,500 kg

New Supreme Court order: In a significant ruling benefiting commercial drivers, Supreme Court on Wednesday held that individuals holding a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) driving licence are eligible to drive transport vehicles with a weight t exceeding 7,500 kg.  

judgement from a five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, offers clarity on licensing regulations and is expected to prevent insurance companies from rejecting claims based on licence type of drivers involved in accidents.

A driver holding a licence for light motor vehicle for vehicles with gross vehicle weight under 7,500 kg is permitted to operate a transport vehicle without needing additional authorisation of Motor Vehicle Act.

"LMVs and transport vehicles are t entirely separate classes, and overlap exists between two, bench held, adding statute should remains practical and workable.

Prouncing unanimous verdict for bench, Justice Hrishikesh Roy, however, said special eligibility requirement will continue to apply to vehicles carrying hazardous goods.

Besides CJI and Justice Roy, bench also comprised Justices P S Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Maj Misra.

Road safety is a serious public issue globally. It is crucial to mention that in India, over 1.7 lakh persons were killed in road accidents and assumption that y stem from drivers operating light transport vehicles driven by LMV licence holders are unsubstantiated, bench said.  

bench said factors contributing to road accidents include rash driving, speeding, road design and failure to adhere to traffic laws. Or significant contributors are use of mobile phones while driving and n-compliance with regulations like seat belts and wearing helmets, it added.

We are able to reach such a conclusion as ne of parties in this case has produced any empirical data to demonstrate that LMV driving licence holders driving a transport vehicle is a significant cause for road accidents in India, it said.

An authoritative prouncement by this court would prevent insurance company from taking a technical plea to defeat a legitimate claim for compensation involving an insured vehicle going below 7,500 kg, driven by a person holding a driving licence for LMVs in an era where automous or driverless vehicles are longer tales of science fiction and app-based passenger platforms are a modern reality, licensing regime cant remain static, it said.

amendments that have been carried out by Indian legislature may t have dealt with all possible concerns, it said.

As we are informed by attorney general that legislative exercise is underway, we hope that a comprehensive amendment to address statutory lacunas will be made with necessary corrective measures, it said.

"Our present interpretation on how licensing regime is to operate for drivers under statutory scheme is unlikely to compromise road safety concerns," court said.

bench said this will also effectively address livelihood issues for drivers operating transport vehicles who clock maximum hours behind wheels in legally operating transport vehicles below 7,500 kg with ir LMV driving licence.

bench upheld 2017 judgement of apex court in Mukund Dewangan case which had held that LMV license holders can drive transport vehicles weighing upto 7,500 kg.

bench had reserved its verdict on August 21 on vexatious legal issue after Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for Centre, had submitted that consultations to amend Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988 are "almost complete".

legal question, which was answered by bench, was wher a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle (LMV) is also entitled to drive a transport vehicle with an unladen weight t exceeding 7,500 kg.

issue has given rise to various disputes over payment of claims by insurance companies in accident cases involving transport vehicles being driven by those possessing licences to drive LMVs.

insurance firms had been alleging that motor accident claim tribunals (MACTs) and courts have been passing orders asking m to pay insurance claims, disregarding ir objections with regard to LMV driving licence.

courts have been adopting a pro-insured approach while deciding insurance claim disputes, insurance firms had said.

question was referred to larger bench on March 8, 2022, by a three-judge bench headed by Justice U U Lalit (since retired).

question arose from apex court's 2017 verdict in case of Mukund Dewangan versus Oriental Insurance Company Limited.

In Mukund Dewangan case, a three-judge bench of court had held that transport vehicles, gross weight of which does t exceed 7,500 kg, are t excluded from definition of an LMV.

judgement was accepted by Centre and rules were amended to align those with verdict.

On July 18 last year, Constitution bench commenced a hearing on 76 petitions to deal with legal question. lead petition was filed by M/s Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited.

While referring matter to larger bench, it was said that certain provisions of law were t ticed by apex court in Mukund Dewangan judgement and " controversy in question needs to be revisited".

MV Act provides for different regimes for granting of driving licences for different categories of vehicles.