- (1.) The appellant presents a point which is patently against the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act. The case merits setting out the law lucidly for future guidance to subordinate courts. It is an admitted case that the vehicle involved in the accident was a goods vehicle. A goods carriage is defined under Section 2 (14) of the Act as a vehicle constructed or adapted for the sole purpose of carrying of goods. A vehicle which is used for carrying on goods is a "transport vehicle" in terms of Section 2 (47). The said section reads that a transport vehicle means, a goods carriage, an educational institution bus and a private service vehicle. A vehicle that carries goods, therefore, conforms to two definitions, namely, goods carriage as well as transport vehicle. A transport vehicle is so defined in order that the legal regulation relating to licencing and permit under the Motor Vehicle Act are complied with. A transport vehicle can be driven only by a person who holds a driving licence in the manner required under Section 3 of the Motor Vehicle Act. Such a vehicle also requires a permit in terms of Section 66 of the Motor Vehicle Act. Section 66 falls within Chapter V, which allows the power of the State to control transport vehicles. Section 66 mandates the necessity of permit and reads as under:- "66. Necessity for permits. ( 1) No owner of a motor vehicle shall use or permit the use of the vehicle as a transport vehicle in any public place whether or not such vehicle is actually carrying any passengers or goods save in accordance with the conditions of a permit granted or countersigned by a Regional or State Transport Authority or any prescribed authority authorizing him the use of the vehicle in that place in the manner in which the vehicle is being use: The holder of a goods carriage permit may use the vehicle, for the drawing of any trailer or semi-trailer not owned by him, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed: Provided that a stage carriage permit shall, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the permit, authorize the use of the vehicle as a contract carriage: Provided also that a goods carriage permit shall, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the permit, authorize the holder to use the vehicle for the carriage of goods for or in connection with a trade or business carried on by him. (2) The holder of a goods carriage permit may use the vehicle, for drawing of any trailer or semi-trailer not owned by him, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed: Provided that the holder of a permit of any articulated vehicle may use the prime-mover of that articulated vehicle for any other semi-trailor. (3) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply- (a) to any transport vehicle owned by the Central Government or a State Government and used for Government purposes unconnected with any commercial enterprise; (b) to any transport vehicle owned by a local authority or by a person acting under contract with a local authority and used solely for road cleansing, road watering or conservancy purposes; (c) to any transport vehicle used solely for police, fire brigade or ambulance purposes; (d) to any transport vehicle used solely for the conveyance of corpses and the mourners accompanying the corpses; (e) to any transport vehicle used for towing a disabled vehicle or for removing goods from a disabled vehicle to a place of safety; (f) to any transport vehicle used for any other public purpose as may be prescribed by the State Government in this behalf; (g) to any transport vehicle used by a person who manufactures or deals in motor vehicles or builds bodies for attachment to chassis, solely for such purpose and in accordance with such conditions as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf; (h) deleted (i) to any goods vehicle, the gross vehicle weight of which does not exceed 3,000 kilograms; (j) subject to such conditions as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, to any transport vehicle purchased in one State and proceeding to a place, situated in that State or in any other Stale, without carrying any passenger or goods; (k) to any transport vehicle which has been temporarily registered under section 43 while proceeding empty to any place for the purpose of registration of the vehicle; (l) deleted (m) to any transport vehicle which, owing to flood, earthquake or any other natural calamity, obstruction on road, or unforeseen circumstances, is required to be diverted through any other route, whether within or outside the State, with a view to enabling it to reach its destination; (n) to any transport vehicle used for such purposes as the Central or State Government may, by order, specify; (o) to any transport vehicle which is subject to a hire-purchase, lease or hypothecation agreement and which owing to the default of the owner has been taken possession of by or on behalf of, the person with whom the owner has entered into such agreement, to enable such motor vehicle to reach its destination; or (p) to any transport vehicle while proceeding empty to any place for purpose of repair. (4) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), sub-section (1) shall, if the State Government by rule made under section 96 so prescribes apply to any motor vehicle adapted to carry more than nine persons excluding the driver."
(2.) The necessity of a permit is to be seen in the context of what is permissible for an insurer to plead in a defence for an action involving the vehicle which is insured but it does not have a permit. Section 149 (2) sets out the line of defences which an insurance company could take. One of the defences, which is permissible, is set out in clause 2, sub-clause (a) (i) (c) which reads as under:- "Section 149 - Duty of insurers to satisfy judgments and awards against persons insured in respect of third party risks. (1) ........ (2) (a) that there has been a breach of a specified condition of the policy, being one of the following conditions, namely:- (b) ...... (c) for a purpose not allowed by the permit under which the vehicle is used, where the vehicle is a transport vehicle, or"
(3.) If the vehicle is not allowed by the permit by which the vehicle is used where vehicle is a transport vehicle, then that shall allow for insurer to plead that there had been a breach of condition in terms of policy. If a permit does not exist, but it was put to a purpose which could have been allowed only by the permit, then an insurance company could plead a violation. It must be taken as inbuilt provision that complete lack of permit makes impermissible for a person to use a vehicle which the law mandates the requirement of a permit. It is one thing to state that there existed a permit but there had been some violation of terms of permit but quite another to state that there existed no permit at all.;