Road safety needs balance with social purpose of law, SC asks Centre if change in law needed for grant of driving licence

This was not just the question of law but also the social impact of the law… road safety has to be balanced with the social purpose of the law and you have to see if this causes serious hardships, stated the five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud. Reports ETV Bharat's Sumit Saxena

New Delhi:The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, observed that road safety has to be balanced with the social purpose of the law and it cannot decide issues of social policy in a constitutional bench, while asking the Centre if a change in law is warranted on the legal question of whether a person holding light motor vehicle (LMV) driving licence is entitled to drive a transport vehicle of a particular weight.

A five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said, “This is not just the question of law but also the social impact of the law… Road safety has to be balanced with the social purpose of the law and you have to see if this causes serious hardships...”

The bench stressed that these are policy issues impacting the livelihood of lakhs of people and the government needs to take a fresh look, as the matter needs to be taken up at the policy level.

The bench – also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, P S Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal, and Manoj Misra – said that it cannot decide issues of social policy in a constitution bench. The top court said the hearing in the constitution bench can proceed further after the government informs its stand in the matter and asked the Centre to wrap up the exercise within two months. Attorney General R Venkataramani represented the Centre before the court.

The bench observed that there may be lakhs of drivers across the country, who are working on the basis of Dewangan judgment and “this is not a constitutional issue. It is purely a statutory issue...”

The bench made it clear that any interpretation of the law must consider valid concerns of road safety and the safety of other users of public transport.

Earlier, the apex court had sought the Attorney General’s assistance in dealing with a legal question of whether a person holding a light motor vehicle (LMV) driving licence is entitled to legally drive a transport vehicle of a particular weight.

It was argued before the court that the apex court’s 2017 verdict in the case of Mukund Dewangan vs. Oriental Insurance Company Limited was accepted by the Centre and rules were amended to align them with the judgment.

A three-judge bench, in the Mukund Dewangan case, had held that transport vehicles, the gross weight of which does not exceed 7,500 kg, are not excluded from the definition of LMV. In July, the constitution bench commenced hearing on a batch of petitions to deal with the legal question. The lead petition was filed by M/s Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Co Ltd.

The legal question has led to several disputes over payment of claims by insurance companies in accident cases involving transport vehicles being driven by those having licences to drive LMVs.