Basheer, J. 1. All these cases are being disposed of by this common judgment, since the core issue that has emanated from a common award passed by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in relation to a road traffic accident is common to all.

2. The question that has cropped up in these cases is: "Can the insurer claim exoneration from its liability to indemnify the owner of a transport vehicle, if the said vehicle gets involved in an accident after the expiry of the period of validity of the permit issued by the transport authorities in respect of the said vehicle" ?. To put it differently, is the liability of the insurance company to indemnify the owner of a transport vehicle co-terminous with the period of validity of the permit?

3. Shorn of unnecessary details, the relevant facts which lead to this legal imbroglio may be briefly noticed.

4. Two pedestrians were knocked down by an ambassador car on July 17, 2004. The car had been admittedly granted a permit by the transport authorities to be used as a Tourist Taxi or "passenger carrying commercial vehicle". It is beyond controversy that the validity of the permit had expired on May 19, 2004, about two months prior to the ac