RAJ KUMAR Vs. ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal has been preferred by the driver and the owner of the vehicle being Eicher Tractor bearing registration No.HR-12-J6195 (hereinafter referred to as 'the offending vehicle') aggrieved by the award dtd. 26/9/2009 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bhiwani (hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal') whereby the driver and the owner (the appellants herein) were held jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation. During the pendency of the appeal, cross-objections being XOBJC-209-2019 have been filed by the claimant-respondent No.2 herein.

(2.) Since the factum of the accident is not in dispute, the facts, as recorded in the impugned award passed by the Tribunal, are not being adverted to herein for the sake of brevity.

(3.) The only argument raised by the learned counsel for the appellants is that respondent No.1-Insurance Company was not held liable to pay the compensation on the ground that the driver of the offending vehicle did not have a licence for driving a tractor and that the licence was only for driving a motor car and a scooter. It is further the contention of the learned counsel for the appellants that motor car falls in the definition of Light Motor Vehicles (LMV) as per Sec. 2 Sub-Sec. 21 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and that as per Sec. 2(21) in the definition of Light Motor Vehicles (LMV) even a tractor, unladen weight of which is less than 7,500 kilograms, is also covered. It is still further the contention of the learned counsel that once the driver of the offending vehicle was holding a licence for driving a motor car, the same would be valid for a tractor as well. In support of his arguments, learned counsel for the appellant has relied upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Mukund Dewangan V/s. Oriental Insurance Company Limited [2017 (4) RCR (Civil) 111].