- (1.) This appeal has been preferred-by the driver and owner of the offending vehicle, which was involved in the accident, which led to death of Kamalpreet Singh. It is the contention of counsel for the appellants that the liability has been fastened upon the appellants by the Tribunal jointly and severally alongwith Insurance Company and the Insurance Company has been given the right to recover the awarded amount from them on the ground that appellant No. 1, Dilpreet Singh, did not have a valid driving licence to drive in India. He contends that appellant No. 1 is holding a driving licence issued by the Licensing Authority, Kuebec, Canada, which is an international driving licence and, therefore, is valid all over the world, including the other Common Wealth Countries. He further con tends that the liability is of the Insurance Company, especially when it comes to the owner and driver of the vehicle as it is not expected of the owner of the vehicle to go to the extent of verifying the genuineness of the driving licence with the Licensing Authority. In support of this contention, he relies upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in Pepsu Road Transport Corporation v. National Insurance Company, 2013 171 PunLR 750(SC).
(2.) Counsel for the appellants very fairly states that there is no endorsement on the licence held by appellant No. 1 by any of the Transport Authority of India, which is the requirement of the statute and the rules. He, however, contends that the appellants cannot be denied the benefits of the insurance policy, which fact is admitted by the respondent-Company. Assertion has also been made that the Insurance Company has not proved the report of the District Transport Officer but has only produced the same before the Tribunal. Accordingly, prayer has been made for setting-aside the award.
(3.) I have considered the submissions made by counsel for the appellants but am unable to accept the same in the light of the fact that the driving licence held by appellant No. 1 was not endorsed by any competent Licensing authority of India, which is the requirement of the statute i.e. the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the rules framed thereunder and, therefore, the driving licence held by the driver on the date of accident cannot be said to be a valid one. Merely because appellant No. 1 was holding an international driving licence, which is valid upto 20.02.2016, would not be a ground for declaring it valid in India without an endorsement of any competent authority, entitling him to drive the vehicle in India.;