New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday 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 an unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kilograms.
A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, during a brief hearing, noted that the exercise for amendment would require consultation with multiple stakeholders and this process will consume time. At the beginning of the hearing, Attorney General R Venkataramani, representing the Centre, 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.
The bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra, said the matter will be listed on January 17, 2024, by which date "we expect that the consultation will be concluded in its entirety and a clear road map of further steps which Union proposes to take should be placed before this court."
The apex court directed the Centre to pursue the exercise with utmost expedition. "Since the consultation with the state government is envisaged, we direct all state governments to comply with the timeline set by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways," said the bench.
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 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.
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.
