New Delhi : The Supreme Court has held that a vehicle owner is not entitled to verify the authenticity of a driving licence to find out whether it has been issued by a competent authority or not.

A Bench, comprising Justice A.R. Lakshmanan and Justice Tarun Chatterjee, held that a vehicle owner could check only if a driver had a driving licence."If the driver produces a driving licence, which on the face of it looks genuine, the owner is not expected to find out whether the licence has in fact been issued by a competent authority or not," it said.

In the instant case, a truck met with an accident and the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal directed the insurance company to pay Rs. 2.70 lakh as compensation to the victims. On an appeal from the company, the Punjab and Haryana High Court said the insurance company would be entitled to recover the amount from the vehicle owner. The court came to the conclusion that truck owner Lal Chand had contravened the terms and conditions of the insurance policy, as the licence of the driver was not issued by the competent licensing authority and that the licence was forged.

Allowing the appeal from the truck owner, the Bench pointed out he had taken adequate care and caution to verify the genuineness of the driver's licence. Further, the appellant had a driving test for the driver and found that he was competent to drive the vehicle and thereafter appointed him.

The Bench was of the view that the insurer, namely the insurance company, had to prove that the insured, namely the owner of the vehicle, was guilty of negligence and failed to exercise reasonable care in the matter of fulfilling the condition of the policy regarding use of vehicles by a duly licenced driver or one who was not disqualified to drive at the relevant point of time.

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