New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday adjourned till April the hearing on the reference on the issue whether a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle is also entitled to legally drive a transport vehicle having unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kilograms.
A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud told the Centre's counsel that the bench has substantially heard the matter now and "We will give the government time to resolve the matter, if it is not resolved then we will hear the matter….we will lay down the law".
Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the court that deliberations were going on with the state governments regarding the possible policy changes. The bench said ultimately if the Parliament wants to intervene it can always do so it is a statutory interpretation, while giving time to Centre to crystallse the matter in terms of policy framework.
The bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal, and Manoj Misra, scheduled the matter for further hearing on April 16. On November 22, last year, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to review by January 17, 2024, the legal question of whether a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle is also entitled to legally drive a transport vehicle having unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kilograms.
The AG had then submitted a note from the Centre and said that the government is considering a larger picture rather than piecemeal amendments to address the issue.
The AG requested the apex court to adjourn the proceedings sine die (indefinitely) in the meantime. However, the court declined to adjourn the proceedings and posted the matter for hearing on January 17.
On September 13, the Supreme Court 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 constitution bench, while asking 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.
Earlier, the apex court had sought AG's assistance in dealing with a legal question 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 this year, 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.
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