Supreme Court permits LMV licence holders to drive transport vehicles with weight up to 7,500 kg

'There is no empirical data that LMV driving licence holders are responsible for rise in road accidents in country,' the apex court said in its observation.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle is also entitled legally to drive a transport vehicle having an unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kilograms.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices Hrishikesh Roy, P S Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra, said if the transport vehicle weight is within 7500 kgs then a LMV license holder can also drive the same transport vehicle, since no data has been shown to support a view otherwise.

The bench said this judgment would help in making insurance claims by a LMV holder who is found driving a vehicle weighing within 7500 kgs.

It said licensing regime cannot remain static, as the bench expected suitable amendments would be made in the law to address the lacunae as it existed, in view of assurance by Attorney General R Venkatramani.

Reading out excerpts of the judgment, Justice Roy said the road safety is a serious public issue globally and 1.7 lakh persons were killed in india due to road accidents.

But to say that it was because of LMV drivers is unsubstantiated, the bench opined, highlighting reasons such as non compliance with seat belt rules, use of mobiles, being inebriated etc, the bench said.

The court also pointed out driving needs special skills.

Interpreting the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the bench confirmed the judgment in Mukund Dewangan Vs Oriental Insurance Company Limited (2017).

During the hearing, the court had 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.