An LMV licence validly authorises driving a transport vehicle below 7,500 kilograms.

Smt. Shribati died in a motor-vehicle accident on 09.05.2019 involving pickup vehicle No. OR-24-B-6990.

The Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bastar at Jagdalpur, awarded compensation of ₹9,55,376 with interest at 9% per annum from the date of the claim application until realization, in Claim Case No. 129/2019.

The insurer challenged the award under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, contending that the vehicle’s driver, Ramesh Kumar Dewangan, possessed only a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) licence and not a licence specifically authorising him to drive a transport/goods-carrier vehicle.

The driver’s licence was valid from 09.09.2011 to 07.09.2031. The vehicle’s unladen weight was 1,710 kg and laden weight was 2,880 kg.

1. Whether a driver holding a valid LMV licence is legally authorised to drive a transport/goods-carrier vehicle whose gross vehicle weight does not exceed 7,500 kg.

2. Whether the alleged absence of a separate transport-vehicle endorsement constituted a breach of the insurance policy, entitling the insurer to exoneration from liability.

3. Whether the Tribunal’s award of ₹9,55,376 with interest at 9% per annum required interference in appeal.

The Court applied Sections 2(21), 2(15), 2(48), and 10(2)(d) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, under which a “light motor vehicle” includes a transport vehicle whose prescribed weight does not exceed 7,500 kg, and a licence to drive an LMV is sufficient to drive such a vehicle.

The Court relied principally on Mukund Dewangan v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., (2017) 14 SCC 663, which held that no separate endorsement is required to drive a transport vehicle falling within the LMV category and that an LMV licence remains valid for such vehicles.

The appeal was maintainable under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The driver held a valid LMV licence on the date of the accident, 09.05.2019.

The offending pickup had an unladen weight of 1,710 kg and a laden weight of 2,880 kg, both well below the 7,500 kg threshold for an LMV.

Applying Mukund Dewangan, the Court held that the vehicle remained within the LMV category despite being used as a transport/goods vehicle, and that no separate transport endorsement was necessary.

Consequently, the driver was duly licensed, there was no breach of the insurance-policy condition, and the insurer could not avoid its statutory liability to satisfy the compensation award.

It held that the driver possessed a valid and effective licence to drive the offending pickup and that no breach of the insurance policy had been established.

The appeal was found devoid of merit and was dismissed, leaving undisturbed the Tribunal’s award of ₹9,55,376 with interest at 9% per annum.