KOCHI:Holding that learner’s licence is a valid document, the Kerala High Court has ruled that insurance companies are liable to pay compensation if the driver has a valid learner’s licence.
“Learner’s licence is a valid document that entitles a persons to drive the vehicle, hence the insurance company is liable to pay compensation,” held the court. A Division Bench comprising Justice T R Ramachandran Nair and Justice K P Jyothindranath passed the order on an appeal filed by Oriental Insurance Company, challenging a Single Bench order.
The petition pertains to an accident on May 27, 2007, at Thiruchilangadi in Feroke, in which a pedestrian died after being hit by a two-wheeler driven by a person with a learner’s licence. The legal heirs of the deceased filed a complaint, alleging negligence on the part of the rider as the cause of the accident.
The insurance firm submitted that the rider had only learner’s licence, and that he was not accompanied by a licensed driver.
Earlier, the Motor Vehicle Appellate Tribunal had held that the firm was not liable to pay compensation. The rider had only a learner’s licence, and the law stipulates that a pillion rider with a valid driving licence should accompany the rider. The court held that absence of pillion rider with a valid driving licence could be considered only on technical grounds, and that it could not be treated as a fundamental breach.
“As long as the pillion rider cannot be termed as a driver, the absence of a licensed driver in pillion cannot be treated as a fundamental breach of the policy condition,” the court said.