Earlier this case was with a bench of three judges of the Supreme Court. Looking at the seriousness of the case, this case was sent to the Constitution Bench of five judges. The Supreme Court decided whether transport vehicles weighing less than 7500 kg will come under the category of LMV i.e. Low Motor Vehicle or not.
LMV Driving License Update: The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it clear that light motor vehicle (LMV) driving license holders will be able to drive heavy transport vehicles weighing up to 7,500 kg. This decision of the five-judge constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud is a big setback for insurance companies. The company was trying to avoid paying the insurance amount on this basis. The bench of five judges rejected their claim. Under the new rule, now the way has been cleared to drive light commercial vehicles including Chota Hathi, apart from cars, with LMV license. However, it will be mandatory for people to get a separate license to drive big trucks.
All the five judges were unanimous on this issue. Justice Rishikesh Roy, who wrote the decision, said that there is no concrete evidence that LMV license holders are responsible for the increase in road accidents. He emphasized that the complaints of drivers with LMV licenses, who spend the most time on the road, are justified and they cannot be dismissed on technical grounds. In the present case, the bench heard arguments on security and livelihood for seven days from July 2023. In March 2022, a three-judge bench had referred the issue to the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court for hearing.
There was a flaw in the 2017 court decision
It was then found that the court’s 2017 decision in the Mukund Dewangan vs Oriental Insurance Company Limited case did not take into account some provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 while holding that a transport vehicle weighing less than 7500 kg would be an LMV. Although the case was first focused on safety and regulatory issues. Later it took into account the livelihood of thousands of workers who drive LMVs for transport purposes.
What was the problem?
In the Mukund Dewangan case, a bench of 5 judges of the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a person holding a license to drive under Section 10(2)(D) of the MVA would need a separate license to drive a transport vehicle (under Section 10(2)(E) of the MVA). This is because it was less than 7500 kg before any goods were loaded on it. A three-judge bench had held that “a transport vehicle and omnibus, neither of which has a gross vehicle load exceeding 7500 kg, shall be a light motor vehicle.” In March 2022, in the case Bajaj Allianz General Insurance vs Rambha Devi, several insurance companies approached the court, saying Mukund Dewangan erred in allowing LMV licence holders to drive transport vehicles.
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