Supreme Court tells Centre to finalise Motor Vehicle Act amendments by April
Insurance companies had approached the Supreme Court seeking reversal of a 2017 judgment of the top court that permitted LMV licence holders to drive transport vehicles
The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the Centre to complete the consultation process with states and Union territories by April for amending the Motor Vehicles Act on the issue of whether a light motor vehicle (LMV) licence holder can legally drive a transport vehicle of unladen weight of up to 7,500 kg.
A five-judge bench headed by chief justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud posted the matter for hearing on April 23 indicating that if the Centre is unable to resolve the issue by then, it will resume hearing on petitions filed by insurance companies seeking reversal of a 2017 judgment of the top court that permitted LMV licence holders to drive transport vehicles.
The bench, also comprising justices Hrishikesh Roy, PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra passed the order after a submission was made by the Centre that the consultation process is still on. Attorney general R Venkataramani said, “The consultation process with stakeholders is not over. We need more time.”
On November 22 last year, the bench had asked the Centre to expedite the consultation process with all necessary stakeholders, including states and Union territories, and file a report while directing the matter to be heard on Wednesday (January 17).
The bench told the AG, “If the issue is not resolved, proceedings shall be listed on April 23 for hearing what remains in the matter.” The court further conveyed to the Centre that as and when a decision is finalised on the amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, a copy of the same should be submitted to the court and the parties to the proceedings a week before the next date of hearing.
In November, the Centre informed the court that the ministry of road, transport and highways (MoRTH) had begun the process of amending the provisions of MV Act, 1988 and had consulted all stakeholders to make changes to the provisions with a holistic perspective. He was responding to an order passed by the court on September 13 seeking his assistance in the matter in order to evaluate the “far-reaching implications” of reversing its 2017 judgment in Mukund Dewangan v Oriental Insurance, which had held the field for six years.
Though AG had requested the court for an indefinite adjournment, the bench was not keen as it observed, “An element of certainty must be brought on the issues raised in these petitions.”
The court is hearing a bunch of 75 petitions by insurance companies against the July 2017 verdict that ended the practice of different sets of rules guiding the grant of licence to drive private and commercial vehicles as long as the unladen weight of the vehicle was less than 7,500kg.
The verdict meant that any person with a licence to drive a private car or autorickshaw did not need the transport department’s endorsement to also drive cabs, taxis or other buses with passengers.
Insurance firms argued this verdict had serious implications for road safety as it would permit an autorickshaw driver to drive a road roller, a school bus or a contract carriage without going through the stringent checks meant for transport vehicle drivers, who had to undergo a rigorous 30-day training course before acquiring a licence.
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