The Supreme Court has held that an individual holding a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) driving license is permitted to drive transport vehicles with an unladen weight of up to 7,500 kg. This is a landmark judgment delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and has a direct impact on insurance companies that have been rejecting claims pertaining to transport vehicles driven by LMV driving license holders.
What did Supreme Court say?
The judgment, which indeed brought relief to LMV license holders, solved the long-running controversy with insurance companies. He further cited in his judgment quoted that:
“There cannot be the least tincture of doubt that LMC drivers are responsible for the spate of the increase of accidents on Indian roads.”.
Chief Justice Chandrachud and Justice Roy were joined by Justices PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal, and Manoj Misra on the bench. The court has delivered its judgment today after reserving it on August 21. Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, had submitted before the court that attempts to bring an amendment to the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988, are almost over.
LMV driving licence holders can lawfully drive transport vehicles despite accident claims
This judgment does not only resolve the long-pending legal question whether license holders of LMV can lawfully drive transport vehicles but also puts the court on the pro-driver side of an insurance dispute. Hitherto, the insurance companies had complained that MACTs and courts were prejudiced against them, while favoring the insured. This often meant that objections based on the fact that LMV driving licenses were being issued for the transport vehicle, in the accident claims made against them, were overlooked.
Urged the Centre to speed up amendments in the MV Act, special emphasis being laid on the clarification of rules regarding licensing. Meanwhile, the relief is immediate for thousands of LMV drivers who are driving transport vehicles within prescribed weight limits due to the judgment of the Supreme Court. The judgment may also make the insurance companies change their policies respecting claims regarding accidents where the company would not penalize LMV drivers unfairly for accidents.
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