New Delhi:
In a aid for business automobile drivers, the Supreme Court docket on Wednesday held that an individual holding a driving licence for a lightweight motorized vehicle (LMV) can also be entitled to drive a transport automobile with an unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kg.
The judgement of a five-judge Structure bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is a jolt to insurance coverage firms which had been rejecting claims if accidents concerned transport automobiles of a selected weight and if the drivers weren’t authorised to drive them as per authorized stipulation.
“There is no such thing as a empirical information that LMV driving licence holders are liable for the rise in highway accidents within the nation,” Justice Hrishikesh Roy, who wrote the unanimous verdict for the bench, mentioned.
He mentioned the LMV driving licence holders, who spent most time behind the wheels, are in search of a solution from the court docket and their grievances can’t be rejected on technical grounds.
In addition to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Roy, the bench additionally comprised Justices PS Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra.
The bench had reserved its verdict on August 21 on the vexatious authorized concern after Legal professional Basic R Venkataramani, showing for the Centre, had submitted that the consultations to amend the Motor Automobiles (MV) Act, 1988 are “virtually full”.
The highest court docket requested the Centre to finish the train of amending the regulation on the earliest.
The authorized query, which was answered by the bench, was whether or not an individual holding a driving licence for a lightweight motorized vehicle (LMV) can also be entitled to drive a transport automobile with an unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kg.
The difficulty has given rise to numerous disputes over fee of claims by insurance coverage firms in accident instances involving transport automobiles being pushed by these possessing licences to drive LMVs.
The insurance coverage corporations have been alleging that the motor accident declare tribunals (MACTs) and the courts have been passing orders asking them to pay insurance coverage claims, disregarding their objections with regard to the LMV driving licence.
The courts have been adopting a pro-insured method whereas deciding insurance coverage declare disputes, the insurance coverage corporations had mentioned.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by EDNBOX workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)