Point of Law: Section 2(10) of the Act defines driving licence to mean the licence issued by a competent authority under Chapter II authorising the person specified therein to drive, otherwise than a learner, a motor vehicle or a motor vehicle of any specified class or description.

JUDGMENT :

A. BADHARUDEEN, J.

1. M.A.C.A. No. 1907/2013 is an appeal filed by the original 1st respondent in O.P. (MV) No. 1828/2011 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kollam, challenging the award dated 31.01.2013 whereby recovery right was granted in favour of the insurance company, the original 3rd respondent, on the finding that the 2nd respondent in the original petition, the driver of the motorcycle bearing Reg. No. KL-4/U6832, was not having valid driving licence at the relevant time of accident. In this case insurance company and other parties to the original petition were arrayed as respondents.

2. O.P. (MAC) No. 3799/2013 is an original petition filed by the appellant in M.A.C.A. No. 1907/2013 under Article 227 of the Constitution of India to declare Ext.P2 revenue recovery proceedings ordered by the Tribunal dated 08.10.2013 as illegal as the same suffers from jurisdictional infirmity.

3. Heard both sides.

4. The seminal legal question arises for consideration is; whether absence of a valid driving licence on the date of accident is a reason to grant recovery right?

5. In this context it is submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant that the 2nd respondent did possess a valid driving licence to drive motorcycle with gear from 19.03.1997 and thereafter it was renewed on 16.08.2011. The date of the accident was on 28.07.2011. Thus the argument of the learned counsel for the appellant is that the 2nd respondent did possess a valid driving licence prior to the accident though he did not possess a valid driving licence on the date of accident. According to the learned counsel for the appellant/petitioner, subsequent renewal of the driving licence would suffice since the insurance company failed to prove disqualification on the part of the 2nd respondent to drive the motorcycle involved in the accident at the relevant time of accident. In this context, the learned counsel for the appellant pointed out decision reported in National Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Swaran Singh, 2004 (1) KLT 781. Whereas the learned counsel for the insurance company highlighted the decision reported in National Insurance Company Limited vs. Vidhyadhar Mahariwala and Others, (2008) 12 SCC 701 to contend that in the absence of driving licence on the date of accident, the company is entitled to get recovery right and the Honourable Supreme Court granted recovery right in the said decision in a similar case. In Para-9 of Vidyadhar Mahariwala's case (supra) the Honourable Supreme Court referred Para-89 of Swaran Singh's case (supra) as under:

“9. xxx xxx xxx

89. Section 3 of the Act casts an obligation on a driver to hold an effective driving licence for the type of vehicle which he intends to drive. Section 10 of the Act enables the Central Government to prescribe forms of driving licences for various categories of vehicles mentioned in sub-section (2) of the said section. The various types of vehicles described for which a driver may obtain a licence for one or more of them are: (a) motorcycle without gear, (b) motorcycle with gear, (c) invalid carriage, (d) light motor vehicle, (e) transport vehicle, (f) road roller and (g) motor vehicle of other specified description. The definition clause in Section 2 of the Act defines various categories of vehicles which are covered in broad types mentioned in sub-section (2) of Section 10. They are goods carriage, heavy goods vehicle, heavy passenger motor vehicle, invalid carriage, light motor vehicle, maxi-cab, medium goods vehicle, medium passenger motor vehicle, motor-cab, motorcycle, omnibus, private service vehicle, semi-trailer, tourist vehicle, tractor, trailer and transport vehicle. In claims for compensation for accidents, various kinds of breaches with regard to the conditions of driving licences arise for consideration before the Tribunal as a person possessing a driving licence for motorcycle, omnibus, private service vehicle, semi-trailer, tourist vehicle, tractor, trailer and transpo