An LMV licence authorises driving transport vehicles below 7,500 kg without additional endorsement.

On 27 October 2008, Gumabhai Vestabhai Damor was travelling as a passenger in jeep bearing registration No. GJ-08-V-7216. The jeep’s rear wheel burst while it was allegedly being driven at excessive speed and in a rash and negligent manner. The driver lost control, causing the jeep to leave the road and collide with a date-palm tree. Gumabhai sustained grievous injuries and subsequently died

His legal heirs filed Motor Accident Claim Petition No. 766 of 2008 before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Dahod. The Tribunal partly allowed the claim petition and awarded compensation of Rs. 7,47,000 with interest at 9% per annum from the date of filing until realization

The Oriental Insurance Company challenged the award, contending that the offending jeep was a transport vehicle and that its driver held only a licence to drive a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV), without the requisite authorization to drive a transport vehicle

The claimants contended that the jeep’s unladen weight was 1,740 kg and therefore fell within the LMV category

Whether the driver, who held a valid LMV driving licence, was legally authorized to drive the offending jeep, notwithstanding its use as a transport vehicle?

Whether the Insurance Company was entitled to avoid liability under the award on the ground that the driver did not possess a valid and effective driving licence?

The Court applied Sections 2(21), 3(1), and 10(2)(d) and (e) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Under Section 2(21), a vehicle with an unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kg falls within the definition of an LMV.

Relying on Mukund Dewangan v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., (2017) 14 SCC 663, and the subsequent authoritative ruling in Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Rambha Devi & Ors., (2025) 3 SCC 95, particularly paragraph 181, the Court held that a driver holding an LMV licence may drive a transport vehicle having a gross vehicle weight below 7,500 kg without obtaining a separate transport-vehicle authorization under Section 10(2)(e).

The additional transport-vehicle licensing requirements principally apply to vehicles exceeding 7,500 kg and certain specially regulated vehicles

The driving licence proved at Exhibit 24 showed that the driver held an LMV licence issued on 26 August 2003 and valid until 25 August 2023; it was therefore valid on the date of the accident, 27 October 2008

The Registration Certificate proved at Exhibit 23 recorded the jeep’s unladen weight as 1,740 kg, substantially below the statutory 7,500 kg threshold

Applying the principles in Mukund Dewangan and Rambha Devi, the Court concluded that the vehicle fell within the LMV category for licensing purposes, even though it was used as a transport vehicle.

Consequently, the driver’s LMV licence was sufficient and there was no breach of the insurance policy warranting exoneration of the Insurance Company

The First Appeal was dismissed, and the Tribunal’s award of Rs. 7,47,000 with interest at 9% per annum was upheld

The Tribunal was directed to disburse the awarded amount to the claimants after deducting any deficit court fees and upon due verification. Any statutory amount deposited before the High Court was directed to be transmitted to the Tribunal