IMPORTANT POINT
A driver holding an LMV license is legally permitted to operate an auto rickshaw, and Supreme Court judgments are retrospective unless stated otherwise.

JUDGMENT :

The owner of the vehicle is challenging the permission granted to the insurance company to recover the award amount from the owner and driver of the vehicle after payment of the amount to the claim petitioner.

2. The claim petitioner, who sustained injuries in an accident occurred on 27.02.2011, filed the petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the driver, owner and insurer of the autorickshaw involved in the accident and the Tribunal, as per the impugned award, recorded a finding that the accident occurred because of the negligence on the part of the driver of the auto rickshaw and since the driver of the auto rickshaw was having only a licence to drive Light Motor Vehicle (LMV), the Tribunal allowed pay and recovery in favour of the respondent insurance company.

3. Heard Sri. P. Jayaram, the learned counsel for the appellant, owner of the vehicle, Sri. R. Sreehari, the learned counsel for the 1^st respondent, Sri. C. Mohandas, the learned counsel for the 2^nd respondent and Sri. Unnikrishnan V. Alapatt, the learned counsel for the 3^rd respondent insurance company.

4. The learned counsel for the appellant argued that the legal position is now well settled by the dictum laid down by the Honourable Supreme Court in in Mukund Dewangan v. Oriental Insurance Company Limited [(2017) 4 KHC 648 (SC)] and the subsequent decision by a Full Bench of this Court in Sjaji v. Pradeesh and others [2018 (2) KHC 342], that a licence to drive a light motor vehicle is legally sufficient to drive an auto rickshaw, which is a light motor vehicle and there is no additional requirement to obtain any separate endorsement on the licence to drive transport vehicle.

5. The learned counsel for the respondent insurance company cited the decision of a Single Bench of this Court dated 29.08.2018 in M.A.C.A No. 2055 of 2011, wherein it was held that as per Kerala Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, auto rickshaw is a vehicle which comes under Clause 2(c) and being a motor vehicle of a specified description, the driver of an auto rickshaw requires a licence to drive that specified vehicle.

6. The learned counsel for the appellant cited the decision of the 5 Judges’ Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Rambha Devi [(2025) 3 SCC 95], wherein the Honourable Supreme Court answered a reference after raising the following specific issues:

(i) Whether a driver holding an LMV licence (for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of less than 7500 kg) as per Section 10(2)(d), which specifies “light motor vehicle”, can operate a “transport vehicle” without obtaining specific authorisation under Section 10(2)(e) of the MV Act, specifically for the “transport vehicle” class;

(ii) Whether the second part of Section 3(1) which emphasises the necessity of a driving licence for a “transport vehicle” overrides the definition of LMV in Section 2(21) of the MV Act? Is the definition of LMV contained in Section 2(21) of the MV Act unrelated to the licensing framework under the MV Act and the MV Rules;

(iii) Whether the additional eligibility criteria prescribed in the MV Act and the MV Rules for “transport vehicles” would apply to those who are desirous of driving vehicles weighing below 7500 kg and have obtained a licence for LMV class under Section 10(2)(d) of the MV Act; (iv) What is the effect of the amendment made by virtue of Act 54 of 1994 w.e.f. 14-11-1994 which substituted four classes under clauses (e) to (h) in Section 10 with a single class of “transport vehicle” in Section 10(2)(e)?

(v) Whether the decision in Mukund Dewangan (2017) [Mukund Dewangan v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., (2017) 14 SCC 663] is per incuriam for not noticing certain provisions of the MV Act and the MV Rules?

7. After analyzing the various provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act and Motor Vehicle Rules, the Honourable Supreme Court arrived at the following conclusions:

(1) A driver holding a licence for light motor vehicle (LMV) class, unde