NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NOS.2538-2539 of 2018 [Arising out of SLP (C) Nos.24305-24306 of 2015]

COMPAQ INTERNATIONAL & ANR.   ….Appellants

Versus

BAJAJ ALLIANZ GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD. & ANR. ..…Respondents

WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO.2540 OF 2018 [Arising out of SLP (C) No.14955 of 2017]

J U D G M E N T

SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.

CIVIL APPEAL NOS.2538-2539 OF 2018  

1. On  12.11.2005,  one  Mr.  Balwant  Singh  was  driving  a

motorcycle  bearing  registration  No.HR-01R-6462  with  Mr.  Suresh

Kumar as a pillion rider in Village Kansapur, Haryana, when it met

with an accident with the offending vehicle, being Car No.HR-02L-

8993.  The driver of the car was one Mr. Nirmal Singh and the vehicle

was  owned  by  Compaq  International,  insured  with  Bajaj  Allianz

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General Insurance Company Limited.  Both the driver and the pillion

of  the  motorcycle  suffered  injuries.   They,  thus,  filed  two  claim

petitions  under  Section  166  of  the  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988

(hereinafter referred to as the ‘said Act’) claiming Rs.20 lakh (by Mr.

Balwant  Singh)  and  Rs.15  lakh  (by  Mr.  Suresh  Kumar).   The  two

separate claim petitions were tried together and post trial in terms of

the award dated 12.2.2008, an amount of Rs.45,500/- was awarded to

Mr.  Suresh Kumar  and Rs.1,21,000/-  was awarded to Mr.  Balwant

Singh.  Since contributory negligence was found to be 50 per cent, the

amount determined was reduced by 50 per cent to award the aforesaid

amounts.  All the respondents were made jointly and severally liable,

which  included  the  owners,  the  driver  and  the  insurance  company.

Interest and costs were also granted.

2. The insurance company filed two separate appeals in respect of

the  said  order.   The  controversy  in  question  insofar  as  we  are

concerned arises from a doubt being cast over the driving licence of the

driver, Nirmal Singh.  The licence in question was proved as Exhibit

RA on the summoning of PW-4, Ashok Kumar, Criminal Ahlmad of

the  Judicial  Magistrate  First  Class,  Ambala  Cantonment  where  the

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original  driving  licence  had  been  filed  and,  thus,  the  copy  was

exhibited as RA in the present proceedings.  As per RW-1, Nar Singh,

Licence Clerk from the Registering Authority, the driving licence was

valid from 27.02.1998 to 26.02.2003,  i.e.  for  a validity period of  5

years.  This was stated to be on the basis of a dispatch register (R-1).

The accident having taken place on 12.11.2005, the plea advanced on

behalf of the insurance company was that it was a licence, which had

expired.  The insurance company, thus, sought to absolve itself of the

liability.

3. The aforesaid plea found favour with the learned single Judge of

the Punjab & Haryana High Court and in terms of the impugned order

dated 15.12.2014, it was held that the insurance company had a right to

recover the amount from the driver and the owner of the offending

vehicle jointly and severally.

4. The present appeal was filed both by the owner and the driver.

5. Notice  was  issued  on  31.08.2015  and  interim  orders  were

granted  staying  the  recovery  by  the  insurance  company  from  the

appellants.

6. The only plea advanced on behalf of the appellants before us

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arises from the aforesaid validity of the driving licence as it is the say

of  the  appellants  that  some  entry  in  the  register  of  the  licensing

authority cannot be accepted as the gospel truth and there is an obvious

mistake in view of the authenticity of the driving license, its renewal

and conversion read with the statutory provisions of the said Act.

7. Learned  counsel  for  the  appellants  drew our  attention  to  the

driving license, which is admittedly issued by the licensing authority.

The driving license was issued on 27.02.1998.  The driving licence

record the date of birth of the driver as 30.04.1961 and is valid for

“M/Car, Jeep Only”.  The validity date given in the driving license is

29.04.2011.

8. In support of the contention that there could not be any other

date than the validity date of 29.04.2011, contrary to the deposition of

RW-1, learned counsel for the appellants referred to the provisions of

Section 14 of the said Act, which reads as under:

“14. Currency of licences to drive motor vehicles.—

(1) A learner’s licence issued under this Act shall, subject to the other  provisions  of  this  Act,  be  effective  for  a  period  of  six months from the date of issue of the licence.

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(2) A driving licence issued or renewed under this Act shall,—

(a) in the case of a licence to drive a transport vehicle, be effective for a period of three years:  

[Provided  that  in  the  case  of  licence  to  drive  a transport  vehicle  carrying  goods  of  dangerous  or hazardous nature be effective for a period of one year and renewal thereof shall be subject to the condition that the driver  undergoes  one  day  refresher  course  of  the prescribed  syllabus;  and]  [Provided  that  in  the  case  of licence  to  drive  a  transport  vehicle  carrying  goods  of dangerous or hazardous nature be effective for a period of one  year  and  renewal  thereof  shall  be  subject  to  the condition  that  the  driver  undergoes  one  day  refresher course of the prescribed syllabus; and]"

(b) in the case of any other licence,—

(i)  if  the  person  obtaining  the  licence,  either originally or on renewal thereof, has not attained the age of [fifty years] on the date of issue or, as the case may be, renewal thereof,— [fifty years] on the date of issue or, as the case may be, renewal thereof,—"

(A) be effective for a period of twenty years from the date of such issue or renewal; or

(B) until the date on which such person attains the age of [fifty years],"

whichever is earlier;

[(ii) if the person referred to in sub-clause (i), has attained the age of fifty years on the date of issue or as the case may be, renewal thereof, be effective, on payment of

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such fee as may be prescribed, for a period of five years from the date of such issue or renewal:]  

Provided that every driving licence shall, notwithstanding its expiry  under  this  sub-section  continue  to  be  effective  for  a period of thirty days from such expiry.”

9. The relevant provision is Section 14(2)(b) in terms whereof the

licence in question, whether originally issued or a renewal thereof had

to be issued would be effective for a period of 20 years or until the

person obtaining such licence attains the age of 50 years, whichever is

earlier.   Since  the  date  of  birth  of  the  driver,  Nirmal  Singh  was

recorded in the license itself as 30.04.1961, he would have attained the

age of 50 years on 30.04.2011.  Thus, the license issued was valid up to

29.04.2011.  In terms of sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) of sub-section (2)

of Section 14 of the said Act, once a person attains the age of 50 years,

the license is renewed for a period of five years from the date of such

issue or renewal.  The renewed license issued to the petitioner is valid

for a period of five years from 2011 to 2016 for the “LMV-NT-Car

Only” category of vehicles.  The reference to the same number and the

original date of issue in the renewed license also leaves no manner of

doubt  that  it  is  the  renewal  of  the  same license.   This  licence  was

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subsequently  converted  into  a  license  both  for  LMV and  Transport

vehicle, a copy of which license was also produced.  The validity of

this  license  is  from 2016 to  2018,  i.e.,  the  next  renewal  and,  once

again, the date of issuance of original license is 27.02.1998.

10. We find force in the contention of the learned counsel for the

appellants from the aforesaid facts that the reliance on the testimony of

RW-1 solely based on a register could not have been the basis of a

finding  that  the  expiry  date  of  the  license  was  26.02.2003.   The

Licensing  Authority  apparently  did  not  itself  have  any copy  of  the

licence.  It is also not a mere question of the dates mentioned in the

licence but those dates ought to have tallied with the mandate of sub-

section (2) of Section 14 of the said Act.  The licence would not have

been issued for 5 years when the driver, Nirmal Singh, was only about

37 years but would be issued for a period of 20 years or 50 years of

age, whichever was earlier.  Since the petitioner attained the age of 50

years  on  30.04.2011,  the  license  mentioned  the  expiry  date  as

29.04.2011.   Not  only  that,  if  there  was  any  doubt  on  the  driving

licence, there would have been no occasion to renew it for a period of 5

years post 2011 and thereafter a second renewal for two years and that

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too  by  change  of  the  category  of  vehicles  including  commercial

vehicles.

11. We are, thus, of the view that the High Court clearly fell into an

error in doubting that the licence was valid on the date of the accident

and, thus, absolving the insurance company of its liability and directing

the amount to be recovered from the appellants jointly and severally.

12. We are  informed  that  the  amount  already  stands  paid  to  the

injured  and,  thus,  the  direction  contained  in  the  impugned  order  to

make such a recovery from the appellants is set aside.  The appeals are

accordingly allowed leaving the parties to bear their own costs.

CIVIL APPEAL NO.2540 OF 2018

13. A  complaint  was  filed  under  Section  12  of  the  Consumer

Protection  Act,  1986  by  Compaq  International,  owner  of  the  vehicle

against the insurance company, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company

Limited and the Licensing Authority.  The cause for this complaint is the

accident caused in a collision between the car of Compaq International

with  a  motorcycle.   The  car  was  driven  by  one  Mr.  Nirmal  Singh

appointed  by  Compaq  International.   It  is  the  case  of  Compaq

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International that the driver was possessed of a valid driving license for

the vehicle in question valid till 2011.  In the accident, the car suffered a

damage  of  Rs.1  lakh  and  Compaq  International  also  had  to  expend

Rs.10,000/- as transportation cost.  Negligence is attributed to the services

rendered by the respondents as the accident claim had not been paid.  The

registering authority was also roped in as a party on account of the stand

sought to be taken that the driving licence was valid till 2003 while the

accident happened on 12.11.2005.  However, the validity period as per the

driving licence was 29.04.2011.  Post trial this complaint was allowed and

a sum of Rs.55,887/- was awarded to Compaq International along with

interest and costs.

14. The  insurance  company  preferred  an  appeal  before  the  State

Consumer  Dispute  Redressal  Commission,  which  was  allowed  on  the

basis of a finding that the driver had not applied for renewal of driving

licence within a period of 30 days from the date of expiry and, thus, did

not hold a valid driving licence on the relevant date.

15. The appellant aggrieved by this order preferred a revision petition

before  the  National  Consumer  Disputes  Redressal  Commission,  which

agreed  with  the  findings  of  the  State  Commission  and,  in  fact,  went

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further  to  even observe  that  the  licence  was  apparently  a  forged  one.

Hence, the Special Leave Petition.

16. In Civil Appeal Nos.2538-2539 of 2018 vide orders passed today

in  respect  of  the  proceedings  arising  from the  Motor  Accident  Claim

Tribunal award we have held that the driver was holding a valid driving

licence on the date of the accident.  That being the position, the very sub-

stratum of the orders passed by the State Commission and by the National

Commission disappears.

17. We, thus, set aside the orders of both the State Commission and the

National Commission dated 14.12.2009 and 19.10.2015 respectively and

remit  the matter to the State Commission to be decided in accordance

with  law in  view of  our  judgment  in  Civil  Appeal  Nos.2538-2539 of

2018.

18. The appeal is accordingly allowed leaving the parties to bear their

own costs.

..….….…………………….J.     [J. Chelameswar]

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              ...……………………………J.         [Sanjay Kishan Kaul]

New Delhi. March 27, 2018.

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