In a crucial ruling, the Kerala High Court has held that a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) licence is sufficient for driving an auto rickshaw. The judgment, delivered by Justice Johnson John, applies the Supreme Court's ruling in Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Rambha Devi with retrospective effect.
The case came before the High Court as a Motor Accidents Claims Appeal (MACA No. 521 of 2019) filed by the vehicle owner, Sivasankaran. He challenged the Tribunal’s earlier decision that had allowed the insurance company to recover compensation from him and the driver after an accident. The Tribunal had reasoned that the driver only held an LMV licence and lacked a separate endorsement for a transport vehicle.
However, Justice Johnson John ruled that since an auto rickshaw falls under the LMV category—based on weight—it does not require additional authorisation under Section 10(2)(e) of the Motor Vehicles Act if the driver already holds a valid LMV licence.
"Since an 'auto rickshaw' falls within the weight limit of an LMV and the driver of the auto rickshaw involved in the accident was having licence to drive an LMV as on the date of the accident, it cannot be held that there is violation of policy conditions on the part of the owner of the vehicle,” the Court stated.
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The insurance company’s counsel had argued that the Supreme Court’s judgment in Bajaj Alliance should not be applied retrospectively. However, the High Court dismissed this argument, relying on another Supreme Court decision in Kanishk Sinha v. State of West Bengal, which clearly clarified:
"The judgment of the Court will always be retrospective in nature unless the judgment itself specifically states that it will operate prospectively."
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The Court also referred to the Constitution Bench ruling in Bajaj Alliance, which clarified that LMV and transport vehicle licences are not entirely separate classes for vehicles weighing less than 7500 kg. This interpretation aligns with previous rulings including Mukund Dewangan v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., which also upheld the validity of LMV licences for driving transport vehicles within the LMV weight range.
“The specific authorisation should not be understood to mean that a person holding an LMV licence which covers ‘transport vehicle’ would be disentitled to drive a ‘transport vehicle’,” the Supreme Court had clarified.
Thus, the Kerala High Court concluded that the appeal must be allowed. The direction in the award allowing the insurance company to recover compensation from the vehicle owner and driver was set aside.
Case Title: Sivasankaran v. Rejin and Others
Court: Kerala High Court
Judgment Date: April 8, 2025
Judge: Justice Johnson John
Counsel for Appellant: P. Jayaram, Sarath Chandran K.B.
Counsel for Respondents: R. Sreehari, C. Mohandas, Unnikrishnan V. Alapatt, Sachin Vyas
