 What is the Motor Vehicle Act 1988?

Age Limit for Driving License as Per Motor Vehicle Act 1988

Passed in 1988, the Motor Vehicle Act regulates the different Anyone who is above 18 years of age is eligible to obtain a
aspects of road transport vehicles. This act provides detailed driving license by following the prescribed procedures.
guidelines about the registration of Motor vehicles, guidelines on
licensing the drivers and conductors, registration of motor Insurance of a Vehicle is Must
vehicles and drafting provisions on controlling the permits,
liabilities, traffic regulations, insurance and penalties. The Motor Under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, it is
Vehicle Act was implemented from 1st July 1989. mandatory that every vehicle must have a valid Insurance to drive
on the road. Whether used for social, domestic or pleasure
Objectives of Motor Vehicle Act 1988 purpose, vehicles must be insured.

The Indian Motor Vehicle Act 1988 was enacted in order to cover Extent of a Compensation in Case of a Road Accident
the following points:
The extent of compensation in respect of permanent disability is
 To follow stricter procedures related to grant to driving sum of Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 50,000 in case of a person’s death.
licenses and the period of validity thereof. Claimant shall not be allowed to show that the permanent injury
or death on which the claim was bought was due to any unjust
 To maintain road safety standards, standards for act or misconduct on the part of the claimant. The amount of
transportation of hazardous and explosive materials and such death or permanent compensation can’t be reduced on the
pollution control measures. ground that person’s part of responsibility for such a permanent
disability or death.
 To take care of the fast increasing number of personal
vehicles and commercial vehicles in the country. When the Injured Party is Younger Than 18 Years

 To increase the amount of compensation of the victims in If the injured party of the accident is younger than 18 years of
hit and run cases. age, then he/she cannot claim for damages. They need to file
through a lawyer. An applicant may file an application for a
 To remove time limit for filing of application by road settlement with the Motor Accident Claims.
accident victims for compensation.
Provision for Fault Liability
Important Provisions Under Motor Vehicle Act 1988
The person who is bringing the compensation petition should compensation of grievous injury to Rs. 50,000 or higher
show that the respondent was negligent. It is really important to and to Rs. 2 Lakhs or higher in case of death.
have evidence that the respondent was at fault and legally
responsible for his actions. Changes in Motor Vehicle Act 1988 in effect from 1 st October
2020
Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill, 2019
New Motor Vehicle Act aims at implementation of enforcement,
This Act has brought some remarkable amendments to maintenance of vehicular documents and e-challans through
Indian Motor Vehicle Act 1988. Have a look: portal for better monitoring. Let’s understand more points related
to Indian Motor Vehicle Act :
 Minimum educational qualifications of transport drivers
under Section 9(4) have been removed. 1. Usage of handheld communication devices at the time of
driving shall solely be used for route navigation and should not
 With insertion of sub - section (5) in Section 12, the disturb the concentration of the driver while driving.
necessity of possessing a licence to drive a light motor car
for atleast one year before applying for learners’ license 2. Motor vehicle owners should maintain their documents on the
has been removed. Now, the applicant can directly apply Central Government online portal like: m - parivahan or
for the class of vehicle in which he has attained training Digilocker.
through an accredited school.
3. Motor vehicle documents such as - Registration Certificates
 The Section 136A puts the responsibility on the Central (RC), insurance, fitness and permit, the driving licence
Government to make rules for the electronic monitoring. certificate for Pollution under check (PUC) that are validated
State Government will also implement the same. electronically cannot be demanded for physical inspection by the
authorities. Even in cases where the offence is made out
 Section 184 has broadened the scope of “dangerous necessitating the seizure of any such documents.
driving.” Now it includes jumping red light, driving against
the flow of traffic, violating the stop sign, usage of hand 4. In cases where an offence is made out necessitating the
held devices at the time of driving and overtaking any seizure of any documents, the authorities can do so only
motor - vehicle contrary to law. electronically and cannot demand for physical inspection. Upon
seizing such documents, the police officer in uniform authorized
 Section 161 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment Bill), 2019 by the State Government shall issue a receipt acknowledging
related to ‘hit and run cases’ has increased the such seizure in physical or electronic form.
Landmark Supreme Court judgments on Motor Vehicle Act 2. Mukund Dewangan Vs. Oriental Insurance Company
1988 Limited

1. Case Name: United India Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Sunil Supreme Courts says driver holding light motor vehicle license is
Kumar & Anr. eligible to drive transport vehicle without any endorsement

Supreme Court says that insurer can’t raise plea of negligence In this landmark case, the cause of concern was whether a driver
who has a license to drive ‘light motor vehicle’ and is driving
It is one of the latest Supreme Court Cases on Motor Vehicle ‘transport vehicle’ of that class has to obtain an endorsement
Act, the major issue revolved around the scope of Section 163A additionally for driving a transport vehicle.
of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. This Act provides the special
provisions to pay compensation on the structured formula basis. In reference to the issue, there has been a divergence of opinion
and conflict in decisions of this court. However, the issue was
Important points to note from this case: later on settled by Three – Judge Bench that there is no
requirement to obtain a separate endorsement for driving a
 Grant of compensation under Section under Section 163A transport vehicle. It was further stated that in case a driver is
of MV Act on the basis of structured formula is in the holding a license to drive a motor vehicle, he can even drive
nature of a final award and adjudication is made without transport vehicle of such a class without any endorsement to that
any requirement of proof of negligence of driver/owner of effect.
the vehicles involved in the accident.
3. National Insurance Company Vs. Pranay Sethi
 Claimant is not required to establish proof of negligence
been made explicit by Section 163A (2). However, the said Supreme Court issues guidelines on Assessment of
section does not specifically exclude a possible defense of Compensation
the Insurer based on the negligence of the claimant. But it
permits such a defense to be introduced by the Insurer to In a landmark judgment passed by the Five - Judge Constitution
be contemplating any such situation would go contrary to Bench of Supreme Court, the Supreme Court has issued
the very legislative object behind introduction of Section guidelines for computation of compensation under the Motor
163A of the Act. Vehicle Act 1988. Some of the factors on which the Bench had
issued guidelines were addition of future prospects in order to
Read More - United India Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Sunil Kumar & determine the multiplicand, deduction towards personal and living
Anr
expenses and the selection of multiplier was also detailed on the had awarded compensation. The Court noted that kids who
reasonable figures on the conventional heads. passed away were studying in an extravagant school and hailed
from upper middle class family. But, it cannot be said that the
It was further concluded that in the case where a driver holds higher compensation granted was for hardship of life. The
license to drive a light motor vehicle, he can also drive a transport Supreme Court had pronounced that that in cases of children in
vehicle also without any endorsement to that effect. between 5 to 10 years of age is compensated with Rs. 1, 50,000
and Rs. 50,000 for conventional compensation. In the case of
Read More - National Insurance Company Vs. Pranay Sethi children between 10 to 18 years must be compensated with Rs.
4, 10,000 including conventional compensation.
4. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Rakesh Kumar & Ors. on
29 February, 2012 Read More - Lata Wadhawa Vs. State of Bihar

Supreme Court says that in order to reject the insurance claim of 6. KR Madhusudhan Vs. Administrative Officer
the insured, the insurer has to prove that the insured was guilty of
his negligence The Supreme Court had found that there could be a divergence
from the rule of thumb.
This case was all about whether the insurance company can be
liable to pay off the compensation in case the owner of vehicle This case stands on different factual basis. It is clear that the
had got the vehicle insured, however the accident took place deceased was entitled to get a rise in income in the future.
when it was being driven by a person not holding the driving Hence, this case comes within the `exceptional circumstances.'
license. Therefore, even though the deceased was above 50 years of
age, he shall be entitled to increase in income due to future
Read More - Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Rakesh Kumar & prospects.
Ors
In this case, the Supreme Court held that the person holding an
5. Lata Wadhawa Vs. State of Bihar expired license would be guilty of the offence of driving a vehicle
without license and insured will be liable for committing the
Supreme Court says that the death of children due to fire crash breach of the policy. It was held that the Insurance Company has
must be compensated the right to avoid the liability.

The incident happened on 3rd March 1989 where most of the