The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday ruled that individuals holding a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) driving license are eligible to drive transport vehicles with a weight not exceeding 7,500kg. The judgment from a five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, offers clarity on licensing regulations and is expected to prevent insurance companies from rejecting claims based on the license type of drivers involved in accidents.

“A driver holding a license for light motor vehicle… for vehicles with gross vehicle weight under 7,500kg is permitted to operate a transport vehicle without needing additional authorisation… of the Motor Vehicle Act. LMVs and the transport vehicles are not entirely separate classes, and overlap exists between the two,” the Bench held, adding the statute should remain practical and workable.

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

Besides the CJI and Justice Roy, the Bench also comprised Justices PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj 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 the assumption that they stem from drivers operating light transport vehicles driven by LMV license holders are unsubstantiated,” the Bench said. The verdict said that the factors contributing to road accidents include rash driving, speeding, road design and the failure to adhere to traffic laws. Other significant contributors are the use of mobile phones while driving and non-compliance with regulations like seat belts and wearing helmets, it added.

“We are able to reach such a conclusion as none of the parties in this case has produced any empirical data to demonstrate that LMV driving license holders driving a transport vehicle is a significant cause for road accidents in India,” the SC verdict read.

 “An authoritative pronouncement 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 7,500kg, driven by a person holding a driving license for LMVs in an era where autonomous or driverless vehicles are no longer tales of science fiction and app-based passenger platforms are a modern reality, the licensing regime cannot remain static,” it further stated.

The amendments that have been carried out by the Indian legislature may not have dealt with all the possible concerns….As we are informed by the Attorney General that the legislative exercise is underway, we hope that a comprehensive amendment to address the statutory lacunas will be made with necessary corrective measures,” the order read.

“Our present interpretation on how the licensing regime is to operate for drivers under the statutory scheme is unlikely to compromise the road safety concerns,” the court ruled.  The Bench said this will also effectively address the livelihood issues for drivers operating transport vehicles who clock maximum hours behind the wheels in legally operating transport vehicles below 7,500 kg with their LMV driving license. The Bench upheld the 2017 judgment of the SC in the Mukund Dewangan case which had held that the LMV license holders can drive transport vehicles weighing upto 7,500kg.