Himachal Pradesh High Court: LMV license holder can drive transport LMVs without endorsement
Shimla, May 10
In a recent ruling, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh has held that a person holding a driving license valid for driving Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) Non-Transport is entitled to drive both transport and non-transport LMVs without any endorsement to that effect. The ruling pronounced by Justice Vivek Singh Thakur, came in response to an appeal filed by Oriental Insurance Company, which contested the order passed by the Commissioner (SDM) under the Workmen Compensation Act, Sarkaghat, District Mandi,
The case involved the death of a driver, Raj Paul, who was driving a Goods Carrying Commercial Vehicle owned by Sunil Verma when he met with an accident. The Insurance Company argued that since Raj Paul’s license was only valid for driving non-transport LMVs, he was not authorized to drive the vehicle in question, which was a transport vehicle. The counsel for the Insurance Company had submitted that deceased Raj Paul was employed by Chander Kumar, but not by Sunil Verma, who was registered owner of the vehicle and in whose name Insurance Policy was issued. It was further contended that being holder of licence valid for LMV (NTPT), deceased was not authorized to drive vehicle in question which was a transport vehicle.
However, the Court held that there is no provision in the Motor Vehicles Act to make an endorsement of ‘LMV non-transport’ and that there is only one category of LMV.
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The Court further stated that with the transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle, the policy of insurance relating to it and the certificate of insurance are deemed to have been transferred in favor of the person to whom the motor vehicle is transferred. Therefore, since the vehicle was owned by Sunil Verma at the time of the accident, the Insurance Company was liable to indemnify the claimants for the compensation payable to them, as determined by the Workmen Compensation Commissioner.
This ruling has significant implications for drivers with LMV non-transport licenses, as it clarifies their entitlement to drive both transport and non-transport LMVs without any endorsement.
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