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Supreme Court says LMV licence holders can drive transport vehicles
The top court upheld its 2017 verdict which permitted light motor vehicle license holders to drive transport vehicles weighing up to 7500 kilograms.
The Supreme Court’s five-judge Constitution bench on Wednesday ruled that a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle (LMV) is entitled to drive a transport vehicle under a gross weight of 7,500 kg.
The top court upheld its 2017 verdict which permitted light motor vehicle license holders to drive transport vehicles weighing up to 7500 kilograms.
A five-judge constitution bench, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, said that road accidents are a matter of concern in the country but the petitions filed by insurance companies failed to provide any empirical proof that LMV license holders had resulted in more accidents.
The Supreme Court was examining whether a person holding a driving licence in respect of a light motor vehicle (LMV) could, on the strength of that licence, be entitled to drive a transport vehicle of light motor vehicle class.
The legal question had provoked various disputes over payment of claims by insurance companies in accident cases involving transport vehicles being driven by those holding LMV licenses.
The insurance firms had said that the motor accident claim tribunals (MACTs) and courts passed orders asking them to pay insurance claims, disregarding their objections with regard to the LMV driving licence.
The bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, P S Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra, had reserved its verdict on August 21.
What was the Supreme Court's 2017 verdict?
In 2017, in the case of Mukund Dewangan versus Oriental Insurance Company Limited, a three-judge bench of the apex court held that transport vehicles, the gross weight of which do not exceed 7,500 kg, were not excluded from the definition of an LMV.
The judgment was accepted by the Centre and the rules were amended to align those with the verdict.
On July 18 last year, the Constitution bench commenced hearing a total of 76 petitions to deal with the legal question. The lead petition was filed by M/s Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited.
With inputs from PTI
