NATIONAL INSURANCE CO LTD Vs. ATAR KHATOON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DELAY in filing the appeal is condoned.

(2.) THE only point involved in this appeal, as filed by the appellant -Insurance Company is that on the date of accident the driver of the offending vehicle did not possess a valid driving licence. Actually what we see from the perusal of the judgment under challenge in this appeal is that the accident in question occurred on 21.3.1996 and as per the witness of the appellant before the Tribunal the driver did possess a valid driving licence which however, was not renewed between 2nd March, 1996 to 24th March, 1996 and was renewed on 25th March, 1996. The accident in question having occurred on 21st March, 1996, according to the appellant, it should be considered that as on the date of the accident the driver did not possess a valid driving licence. For the reasons that we take hereinafter, we in this appeal need not go into the merits of the aibresaid contention or the validity of the argument of the learned counsel for the appellant.

(3.) DRAWING a comparison between the corresponding provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 and Section 149 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and relying upon the observations of the Supreme Court in an earlier judgment their Lordships held as under : - -