New Delhi: A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday (November 6) held that a transport vehicle which has an unladen weight below 7,500 kg, is also a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) and a person holding a driving license in respect of LMV is entitled to drive a “transport vehicle of light motor vehicle class” having unladen weight not exceeding 7500 kg.
A five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Hrishikesh Roy, PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra had earlier reserved its verdict on the reference issue.
The bench also upheld an earlier order of a three-judge apex court bench holding that the gross weight of transport vehicles not exceeding 7,500 kg are not excluded from the definition of LMV.
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No data has been shown to support otherwise: Apex Court
Justice Hrishikesh Roy, reading out the judgment, said, “We hold that if transport vehicle weight is within 7500 kgs, then a LMV license holder can also drive the same transport vehicle. No data has been shown to support otherwise.”
To say that all accidents were because of LMV drivers is unsubstantiated: Apex Court
The bench said that road safety is a serious public issue globally and 1.7 lakh persons were killed in India due to road accidents and to say that all those accidents were because of LMV drivers is unsubstantiated. There are reasons such as non-compliance with seat belt rules, use of mobiles, being inebriated etc.
Suitable amendments are made to address lacunae as it exists, Apex Court hoped
The bench, while saying that licensing regime cannot remain static and hoping that suitable amendments are made to address the lacunae as it exists, further said that a pronouncement from this court will also help in making insurance claims by a LMV holder who is found driving a vehicle weighing within 7500 kgs.
“We are able to reach such a conclusion as none of the parties produced data in this case to show that LMV drivers driving transport vehicles is a significant cause for road accidents in India,” the bench said.
This will also solve livelihood issues of such drivers who spends most of his life behind the wheels: Apex Court
“This will also solve the livelihood issues of such drivers who spends most of his life behind the wheels. A driver holding LMV license to drive vehicle under gross weight of 7500 kgs can drive transport vehicles. There is no clear difference between LMV and transport vehicle. Additional criteria applicable to transport vehicle will apply to only those vehicles being driven which is above 7500 kgs,” the bench said.
The bench said that the LMVs and transport vehicles are not entirely separate classes for licensing purposes and an overlap exists between the two. The special eligibility requirement will, however, continue for e-cars, e-rickshaws and vehicles carrying hazardous goods.
