The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has held that a person holding a driving license for a ‘Heavy Goods Vehicle’ is legally competent to drive a passenger vehicle, citing the 1994 amendment which unified all commercial vehicles under the ‘transport vehicle’ category.
Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani passed the ruling while dismissing an appeal filed by the National Insurance Company Ltd, which had challenged a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) award dated February 6, 2014, arguing that the driver lacked a specific endorsement to drive a Passenger Service Vehicle (PSV).
The Court clarified that Section 10(2)(e) of the Motor Vehicle Act, after the 1994 amendment, merged the classifications of commercial vehicles into a single category — ‘transport vehicle’ — thereby making a person with a heavy goods vehicle license eligible to drive any commercial vehicle, including passenger carriers.
“Any person holding a driving license to drive a heavy goods vehicle would be competent to drive a passenger-carrying vehicle as well,” the Court observed.
The insurer had also contested the MACT’s award of 7.5% interest as excessive and objected to the closure of evidence proceedings without the examination of certain witnesses. However, the Court dismissed all arguments as devoid of merit.
The Court also rejected the insurer’s reliance on a previous case, Bashir Ahmed Chopan, terming it per incuriam and instead upheld the legal reasoning laid down in National Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Mohd. Sadiq Kuchay, where a Division Bench had ruled that PSV endorsements are not mandatory under J&K Motor Vehicle Rules.
The bench ordered that the compensation amount, already deposited by the insurance company in compliance with a 2014 interim order, be released to the claimants as per the original award.
Advocates Dinesh Singh Chauhan and Damini Singh Chauhan represented the appellants. (JKNS)
