The
Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central government to review by January
17 the legal question of whether a person holding a driving licence for a light
motor vehicle is entitled to legally drive a transport vehicle of a particular
weight.
A
five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud noted that
the exercise for amendment would require consultation with multiple
stakeholders which will take time.
"We
direct the Union to pursue the exercise with utmost expedition. Since the
consultation with the state government is envisaged, we direct all state
governments to comply with the timeline set by the Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways.
"The
proceedings shall now be listed on January 17, 2024, by which date we expect
that the consultation will be concluded in its entirety and a clear road map of
further steps which Union proposes to take should be placed before this
court," the bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, P S Narasimha,
Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra, said.
At
the outset, Attorney General R Venkataramani submitted a note from the Centre
and said the Union Government was considering a larger picture rather than
piecemeal amendments to address the issue.
The
top law officer urged the bench to adjourn the proceedings sine die
(indefinitely) in the meantime.
The
apex court, however, refused to adjourn the proceedings and posted the matter
for hearing on January 17.
It
also clarified that during the pendency of the matter, the judgment in the
Mukund Dewangan case shall hold the field.
The
apex court had earlier asked the Union government if a change in law is
warranted on the legal question of whether a person holding a driving licence
for a light motor vehicle is entitled to legally drive a transport vehicle of a
particular weight.
Observing
that these are policy issues impacting the livelihood of lakhs of people, the
bench had said the government needs to take a "fresh look" at the
matter while asserting that it needs to be taken up at the policy level.
The
top court had earlier sought the assistance of Attorney General R Venkataramani
in dealing with a legal question about whether a person holding a driving
licence for a light motor vehicle is entitled to legally drive a transport
vehicle of a particular weight.
The
constitution bench had said knowing the position of the Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways will be necessary after it was argued that the apex
court's 2017 verdict in the case of Mukund Dewangan versus Oriental Insurance
Company Limited was accepted by the Centre and rules were amended to align them
with the judgement.
In
the Mukund Dewangan case, a three-judge bench of the top court had held that
transport vehicles, the gross weight of which does not exceed 7,500 kg, are not
excluded from the definition of LMV.
"There
may be lakhs of drivers across the country who are working on the basis of
Dewangan judgment. This is not a constitutional issue. It is purely a statutory
issue," the bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, P S Narasimha,
Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra, said.
"This
is just not the question of law but also the social impact of the law... Road
safety has to be balanced with the social purpose of the law and you have to
see if this causes serious hardships. We cannot decide issues of social policy
in a constitution bench," it said.
The
apex court said once the government informs its stand to the court, the hearing
in the constitution bench will be taken up thereafter.
The
Constitution bench is dealing with a legal question which reads: "Whether
a person holding a driving licence in respect of 'light motor vehicle' could on
the strength of that licence, be entitled to drive a 'transport vehicle of
light motor vehicle class' having unladen weight not exceeding 7,500
kg." On July 18, the constitution bench commenced hearing as many as
76 petitions to deal with the legal question.
It
had then heard the arguments of senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for
one of the petitioners, on alleged anomalies in the Motor Vehicle Act with
regard to regimes for dealing with the grant of driving licenses for different
categories of vehicles.
The
lead petition was filed by M/s Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd.
The
legal question has given rise to various disputes over payment of claims by
insurance companies in accident cases involving transport vehicles being driven
by those having licences to drive LMVs.
The
Motor Vehicle Act provides for different regimes for the granting of driving
licences for different categories of vehicles. The matter was referred to the
larger bench on March 8, 2022, by a three-judge bench headed by Justice U U
Lalit, since retired.
It
was said that certain provisions of the law were not noticed by the apex court
in the Mukund Dewangan judgement and "the controversy in question needs to
be revisited".