The central legal point established in the judgment is the importance of conformity with the existing law, proper evidence, and adherence to the established norms of evidence law in proving documents.

V.K. Gupta, CJ.—A short point is involved for consideration, examination and decision in this appeal by the appellant-Insurer under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the judgment and award dated August 11, 2000 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (2) Solan in MAC Petition No. 9-S/2 of 1997. The point is with respect to the decision/finding by the learned Tribunal on Issue No. 4 relating to the validity of the driving licence allegedly possessed by respondent No. 3 herein Shri Hari Krishan, who at the relevant time was the owner-cum-driver of Truck No. HIS-496 which was involved in an accident on March 8, 1997 resulting in the death of deceased Babu Ram.

2. Following five issues were framed by the Tribunal vide its order dated April 20, 1999 :

"1. Whether Shri Babu Ram on 8.3.1997 while paddling cycle was hit by truck bearing No. HIS-496 driven rashly and negligently by respondent No. 1 as alleged? OPP

2. If issue No. 1 is proved whether the deceased Babu Ram sustained fatal injury to which he succumbed? OPP

3. Whether the petitioners are entitled for compensation if so to what extent and from whom? OPP

4. Whether the respondent No. 1 had no valid driving licence at the time of accident-? OPR-2

5. Relief."

3. In this case, I am concerned only with respect to the Tribunals finding on Issue No. 4 in as much as whereas the Tribunal by deciding Issue No. 4 has held that the licence allegedly in possession of respondent No. 3 was a valid document, appellant feeling aggrieved from this finding of the Tribunal has preferred this appeal only on the ground that the finding is wrong and that the licence in fact was not a valid or genuine document. To appreciate the perspective and the background in which the impugned finding has been given by the Tribunal, I have to refer to certain important facts having a close bearing to the outcome of this case.

4. Driving Licence No. 123/SLN/85 was issued on April 29, 1985 by the Licensing Authority Solan. This licence has been marked as Ex.RW-1/D by the Tribunal and the unrebutted evidence on record clearly establishes beyond any iota of doubt that by this licence, respondent No. 3 was permitted to drive Light Motor Vehicles as well as Medium Goods Vehicles. The vehicle involved in the accident, being a Truck and having registration No. HIS 496, was neither a Light Motor Vehicle nor a Medium Goods Vehicle because its registered laden weight as shown in Column No. 12 of Ex.RW-1 /C the copy of the Registration Certificate of this vehicle, has been mentioned as 12,180 Kgs. Even though in Column No. 11 of Ex.RW-1/C this vehicles unladen weight has been mentioned as 5140 Kgs. for the reasons that I state hereafter, unladen weight is not relevant for our purposes at all because it is only the registered laden weight (mentioned as 12180 Kgs.) which is relevant for the decision of this appeal.

5. First and foremost, in Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 the registered laden weight has not at all been defined. The expression registered laden weight was in existence and had thus been defined in Section 2(27) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 and this definition read as under : "2(27) "registered laden weight" means an authority empowered to register motor vehicles under Chapter-III."

6. The Parliament in its wisdom while enacting 1988 Act omitted the expression "registered laden weight" from the new legislation and instead introduced another expression "gross vehicle weight" and defined it in Section 2(15) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to mean: "2(15) "gross vehicle weight" means in respect of any vehicle the total weight of the vehicle and load certified and registered by the registering authority as permissible for that vehicle."

7. As would thus be evidently clear, the term "registered laden weight" and "gross vehicle weight" carry exactly same, identical definition word by word, expression by expression, only the name "registered laden weight" has been changed into "gross vehicle weight".