Summary
The Constitution Bench deferred interpreting whether an LMV licence permits driving a transport vehicle in that class while requesting the Union Government’s policy assessment. Potential reconsideration of Mukund Dewangan implicated road safety, changes in transport, livelihoods and reliance by insured drivers on the existing ruling. The Government was asked to evaluate the matter within two months. The Court expressly left the merits of the reference and the earlier decision open.
Issues
- Whether policy evaluation should precede the Constitution Bench’s reconsideration of the LMV-licence ruling in Mukund Dewangan.
Held
- Potential reconsideration required attention to the evolving transport sector and road safety, as well as the reliance of commercial drivers and insured persons on the existing ruling and the sector’s importance to livelihoods. Those considerations could point in different directions and required governmental policy assessment. (¶¶ 11, 12)
- The Union Government should take a fresh, considered look at whether legislative change is warranted and the appropriate way forward. The Court would resume the interpretative exercise once the Government’s considered position was available. (¶¶ 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
- No view was expressed on the merits of the referral order or the correctness of Mukund Dewangan. This order neither overruled that decision nor finally resolved the licence question. (¶ 16)
Result
Union Government requested to complete its evaluation within two months. Proceedings listed for directions on 22 November 2023 as a part-heard matter at the top of the Board; reference not finally decided.