IMPORTANT POINT
A learner's license is valid for driving under the M.V. Act, and the insurer must prove any alleged breach of its conditions to avoid liability for compensation.

ORDER :

Kuldeep Mathur, J.

1. The present civil misc. appeals under Section 173 of the M.V. Act have been filed by the appellants against the judgment and award dated 29.06.2022 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Labour Court), Sri Ganganagar in Motor Accident Claim Case No.58/2017, whereby the learned Tribunal while holding the appellants jointly and severally liable to pay, passed an award for, an amount of Rs.8,91,664/- with an interest @ 7% p.a. with effect from 04.06.2015 till the date of realization of amount, in favour of the claimants.

2. The present appeals have been preferred against the findings recorded in issue Nos.2, 3 and 4 as arrived at, by the learned Tribunal wherein it was held that the driver of the offending vehicle, at the time of accident was holding only a learner’s licence. It was further held that the driver of the vehicle had breached the conditions of learner’s licence issued in his favour and, therefore, the insurer i.e. respondent No.6 cannot be held liable to satisfy the liability of paying compensation to the claimants.

3. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the appellants are the owner and the driver of the offending vehicle respectively. It was contended that the impugned judgment and award dated 29.06.2022 has been passed without considering the facts and law applicable in the present case in their true perspective. To substantiate the above contention, it was submitted that admittedly, the driver of the offending vehicle at the time of alleged incident was holding a learner’s licence and therefore it cannot be said that the insurer i.e. respondent No.6 is not liable to satisfy the liability. The insurer ought not to have been absolved from its liability merely for some technical breach of conditions of driving licence, if any.

4. Learned counsel urged that as a matter of fact, no evidence was led by the insurance company i.e. respondent No.6 before the learned Tribunal to prove the alleged breach of the terms and conditions of learner’s driving licence as enumerated under Section 3 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 by the driver of the offending vehicle at the time of the accident.

5. Learned counsel for the appellants thus prayed that the impugned judgment and award dated 29.06.2022 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Sri Ganganagar in Motor Accident Claim No.58/2017 may be quashed and set aside or in the alternative, the finding recorded by the learned Tribunal on issue No.2, so far as to absolve the insurer i.e. respondent No.6 from its liability to pay compensation to the claimants, may be interfered with.

6. Per Contra, learned counsel Shri Mukul Singhvi appearing on behalf of the insurer submitted that from a perusal of the impugned judgment and award dated 29.06.2022, it is evident that at the time of the alleged incident the offending vehicle was being driven in violation of policy conditions of insurance policy and also in contravention to the mandatory conditions enumerated under Section 3 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rule, 1989. The insurer has rightly been discharged from the liability to pay the compensation to the claimants by the learned Tribunal in the impugned judgment and award dated 29.06.2022.

7. Heard learned counsel for the parties at length. Perused the material available on record.

8. Section 3 of Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 is reproduced herein below for ready reference:

“3. General. - The provisions of sub-section *(1) of section 3 shall not apply to a person while or gaining experience in driving with the object of presenting himself for a test of competence to drive, so long as-

(a) such person is the holder of an effective learners license issued to him in Form 3 to drive the vehicle;

(b) such person is accompanied by an instructor holding an effective driving license to drive the vehicle and such instructor is sitting in such a position to control or stop the vehicle; and

(c) there is painted, in the front and the rear of the