LMV License Holders Can Drive Transport Vehicles: Supreme Court

New Delhi: A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle (LMV) is entitled to drive a transport vehicle under a gross weight of 7,500 kg.

The top court upheld its 2017 verdict which permitted light motor vehicle license holders to drive transport vehicles weighing up to 7500 kilograms.

The bench, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, said that road accidents are a matter of concern in the country but the petitions filed by insurance companies failed to provide any empirical proof that LMV license holders by virtue of driving transport vehicles had resulted in more accidents.

The insurance companies claimed as a result of the 2017 ruling enabled an LMV license holder to drive a transport vehicle, which could be a bus, truck or road roller.

The insurance firms have been alleging that the motor accident claim tribunals (MACTs) and courts have been passing orders asking them to pay insurance claims, disregarding their objections about the LMV driving licence.

The courts have been adopting a pro-insured approach while deciding insurance claim disputes, the insurance firms have said.

The bench also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, P S Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra had reserved its verdict on August 21 on the issue after Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, had submitted that the consultations to amend the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988 are “almost complete”.