New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday reiterated that Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) licence holders do not require any separate endorsement to drive a transport vehicle of the LMV class.
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI), D.Y. Chandrachud said that a person holding an LMV licence can also drive a transport vehicle if gross vehicle weight is under 7,500 Kg.
“None of the parties has placed any empirical data to demonstrate that LMV driving licence holders driving a transport vehicle is a significant cause for road accidents in India,” added the CJI Chandrachud-led Bench.
It said that the additional eligibility criteria as specified in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and rules framed thereunder will apply only to medium/heavy goods and passenger vehicles having gross weight above 7,500 Kg.
The Constitution Bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, P.S. Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal, and Manoj Misra, was seized of the reference where the correctness of the decision of a three-judge Bench in the Mukund Dewangan judgment has been doubted.
The 2017 Mukund Dewangan judgment had held that the need for a transport licence would arise in the case of medium/heavy goods and passenger vehicles only, adding that no other vehicle will require any separate endorsement, even if they are used for commercial purposes.
In other words, a holder of an LMV licence would not require any separate endorsement for commercial usage of LMVs like cars, vans, etc.
The Centre issued notifications and brought amendments to the Motor Vehicles Rules to bring them in conformity with the above judgment of the Supreme Court.
The 2017 judgment gave rise to various disputes over payment of claims by insurance companies in accident cases involving transport vehicles being driven by those having licences to drive LMVs and the matter was re-agitated at their instance.
In March 2022, a Bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit (now retired) held that certain provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act were not noticed by the top court in its 2017 Mukund Dewangan decision and the issue needs to be re-visited by a five-judge Constitution Bench.
The Constitution upheld the 2017 Mukund Dewangan judgment and refused to term the previous ruling “per incuriam” even if certain provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and rules were not considered.
In the course of the oral hearing, CJI Chandrachud had remarked that the issue in question was not plainly “about interpreting law” but involved the “social impact of law” as well.
The Constitution Bench had asked the Union government to consider the impact on lakhs of people across the country who are engaged in driving commercial vehicles on the basis of the judgement in the Dewangan case as they will be “completely put out of their livelihood”.
It had made repeated emphasis that the Union government should review the entirety of the position and then take an appropriate call.
–IANS
pds/rad
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
