IMPORTANT POINT
The central legal point established in the judgment is that the license to drive a light motor vehicle includes the license to drive a transport vehicle, based on the interpretation of the Motor Vehicles Act and relevant sections.

JUDGMENT :

1. The present batch of two miscellaneous appeals and one civil revision arise out of the same accident and stands decided in three different claim cases, i.e., Claim Case No.204/2014, Claim Case No.205/2014 and Claim Case No. 203/2014 respectively by the Third Additional Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Bastar at Jagdalpur vide Awards dated 9.3.2016.

2. Vide impugned Awards, learned Claims Tribunal, in a proceeding under Section 166(1) read with Section 140(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 has awarded a compensation of Rs.5,19,600/- to the claimants in Claim Case No. 204/2014 (MAC No.720/2016) for death of deceased Neela Bai, Rs.9,200/- to the injured claimant Smt. Somari in Claim Case No.205/2014 (CR No.90/2016) and Rs.51,900/- to the injured claimant Smt. Devli in Claim Case No. 203/2014 (MAC No.721/2016) along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of filing of their respective claim application, fastening the liability of payment of compensation jointly and severally upon the United India Insurance Company as well as on the driver Prashant Kumar Baghel and owner Smt. Laxmi Royali of the offending vehicle, i.e., Auto bearing Registration No. CG17-T/0563 which met with accident in question on 12.2.2014 resulting in death and injuries to the aforesaid persons.

3. The Insurance Company took a specific plea before the Claims Tribunal that the driver Prashant Kumar Baghel, who was driving the offending vehicle at the time of accident, was only having a driving licence to drive light motor vehicle which was valid up to 9.2.2033 and there was no endorsement therein to drive a transport vehicle. However, learned Claims Tribunal rejected the argument of the Insurance Company and fastened the liability of payment of compensation upon the Insurance Company in light of the decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of Kulwant Singh and Others v. Oriental Insurance Company Limited., (2015) 2 SCC 186, which has been called in question by filing the present appeals and revision by the Insurance Company.

4. Learned counsel appearing for the Insurance Company submits that the Claims Tribunal is absolutely unjustified in fastening the liability for payment of compensation upon the Insurance Company, as the offending vehicle was a transport vehicle and the driver of the offending vehicle did not have a licence at the time of accident to drive a transport vehicle. He thus prays for the two appeals and the revision to be allowed fastening the liability upon the driver and owner of the offending vehicle to pay compensation to the claimants.

5. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the claimants as well as learned counsel appearing for the driver and owner submit that in light of the decision of the Supreme Court rendered in the matter of Mukund Dewangan v. Oriental Insurance Company Limited., (2017) 14 SCC 663, the appeals as well as revision filed by the Insurance Company deserve to be dismissed.

6. I have heard learned counsel for parties, considered their rival submissions made herein-above and also gone through the records with utmost circumspection.

7. The short question involved in this batch of miscellaneous appeals and civil revision is as under:-

“Whether 'Light motor vehicle' as defined in Section 2(21) of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 would include a transport vehicle as per the weight prescribed in Section 2(21) read with Section 2(15) and 2(48) of the said Act.”

8. In the matter of Mukund Dewangan (supra), a three- Judge bench decision, their Lordships of the Supreme Court have considered the question as to whether licence to drive light motor vehicle would include licence to drive a transport vehicle and held in paragraphs 60.1 & 20.2 as under:-

“60.1. “Light motor vehicle” as defined in section 2(21) of the Act would include a transport vehicle as per the weight prescribed in section 2(21) read with section 2(15) and 2(48). Such transport vehicles are not excluded from the definition of the