Driving licence valid for 30 days after expiry, accident on last day of grace period covered: HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that a driving licence stays valid for 30 days after its expiry, while holding that an accident even on the 30th and final day of the grace period remains fully covered for insurance purposes.

The ruling came as Justice Virinder Aggarwal dismissed an appeal by an insurance company seeking recovery rights on the ground that the driver’s licence had expired a month before the accident. The Court noted that the Motor Vehicles Act explicitly grants a 30-day extension, during which an otherwise expired licence continues to remain valid.

Citing the statutory mandate, the court reproduced the proviso to Section 14 of the Motor Vehicles Act as saying: “Provided that every driving licence shall, notwithstanding its expiry under this sub-section, continue to be effective for a period of thirty days from such expiry.”

Justice Aggarwal, during the course of proceedings, took note of the insurer’s argument that the licence had expired on June 4, 2001, while the accident took place on July 4, 2001, and renewal was effected only on August 6, 2001. On this basis, it contended that the driver was “not duly licensed” on the date of the accident and sought recovery rights.

The court rejected the argument after computing the statutory grace period. “A plain reading of the proviso makes it manifest that the legislature has expressly extended the effectiveness of an expired driving licence for a statutory period of thirty days beyond the date of its expiry,” Justice Aggarwal held.

Applying the legislative extension, the court concluded: “In the present case, the licence expired on June 4, 2001, and the thirty-day statutory grace period commenced on June 5, 2001. Computed accordingly, the 30th day fell on July 4, 2001, and remained valid till midnight of that day. The accident admittedly occurred on July 4, 2001, at about 10:45 am, well within the statutory window of validity. Therefore, by operation of law, the licence continued to remain effective at the time of the accident.”

Justice Aggarwal also referred to earlier precedents, including its 2018 decision in the State of Haryana versus Karkor and others, which held that a licence remained valid during the grace period and insurers could not claim breach of policy conditions. A similar view was taken by the Allahabad High Court in Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. versus Smt. Santosh Kumari.

Finding “no room for doubt” about the licence’s subsistence on the date of the mishap, Justice Aggarwal concluded that the insurer’s plea “lacks merit”, while affirming the Tribunal’s 2003 award fastening liability on the company without granting recovery rights.