In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a person holding a driving license for a light motor vehicle (LMV) is also entitled to drive a transport vehicle under an unladen weight of 7,500 kg without obtaining the additional authorization to drive the transport vehicles.

Stating that core skills expected of all drivers apply universally, regardless of whether the vehicle falls into transport or non-transport categories, a five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Manoj Misra said, “The licensing regime under the MV Act and the MV Rules, when read as a whole, does not provide for a separate endorsement for operating a ‘Transport Vehicle’, if a driver already holds a LMV license.”

While permitting the driving licence holder of LMV to operate transport vehicle of gross weight of 7500 kg, the constitution bench, however, “We must however clarify that the exceptions carved out by the legislature for special vehicles like e-carts and e-rickshaws, or vehicles carrying hazardous goods, will remain unaffected by the decision of this Court.”

Clearing deck for the drivers holding licence to operate the LMV class to operate transport vehicle of gross weight of 7,500 kg, the constitution bench said, “A driver holding a license for Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) class, under Section 10(2)(d) for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight under 7,500 kg, is permitted to operate a ‘Transport Vehicle’ without needing additional authorization under Section 10(2)(e) of the MV Act specifically for the ‘Transport Vehicle’ class.”

Noting that the definition of LMV under Section 2(21) of the MV Act explicitly provides what a ‘Transport Vehicle’ ‘means’, the judgment says, “definition under Section 2(21) or the second part of Section 3(1) which concerns the necessity for a driving license for a ‘Transport Vehicle’ is reduced to a dead letter of law. Therefore, the emphasis on ‘Transport Vehicle’ in the licensing scheme has to be understood only in the context of the ‘medium’ and ‘heavy’ vehicles. This harmonious reading also aligns with the objective of the 1994 amendment in Section 10(2) to simplify the licensing procedure.”

Making a distinction between transport vehicle with gross weight upto 7500 kg and those above it, the judgment said, “The additional eligibility criteria specified in the MV Act and MV Rules generally for driving ‘transport vehicles’ would apply only to those intending to operate vehicles with gross vehicle weight exceeding 7,500 kg i.e. ‘medium goods vehicle’, ‘medium passenger vehicle’, ‘heavy goods vehicle’ and ‘heavy passenger vehicle’.

Speaking for the constitution bench, Justice Hrishikesh Roy said, “Road safety is a serious public health issue globally. It is crucial to mention that in India, over 1.7 lakh persons were killed in road accidents in 2023. The causes of such accidents are diverse, and assumptions that they stem from drivers operating light transport vehicles with an LMV license are unsubstantiated.”

Justice Roy further said, “Factors contributing to road accidents include careless driving, speeding, poor road design, and failure to adhere to traffic laws. Other significant contributors are mobile phone usage, fatigue, and non-compliance with seat belt or helmet regulations.”

Besides road safety, the judgment said that the “the livelihood concern of a large number of drivers of transport vehicles in India also requires an answer from the bench … As can be appreciated, Sri (Transport vehicle driver) spends maximum hours behind the driving wheels and is arguably the most experienced one amongst Indian drivers, carrying goods and people, from destination A to B and so on.”

Justice Roy started his judgment with a humorous observation from comedian George Carlin on the perception of the capability of drivers on the road who had said, “‘Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”

The pivotal legal issue that the Constitution bench addressed and decided was whether under the existing legal framework of the Motor Vehicle Act,1988 and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, a person holding a license for a ‘Light Motor Vehicle’ class, can drive a ‘Transport Vehicle’ without a specific endorsement, provided the ‘Gross Vehicle Weight’ of the vehicle does not exceed 7,500 kgs?