Driving Licence Can’t Be Called Fake Merely Because It Was In Booklet Form: Delhi High Court Dismisses Insurance Company’s Appeal

The High Court was considering a Regular First Appeal filed under Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) against the judgment of the District Judge decreeing the Suit of the Respondent/Plaintiff for Rs 13,77,500 along with interest.

The Single Bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna held, “Therefore, even as per the Notification, merely because the driver was holding a booklet form, it cannot be termed as a fake driving licence. The driver had the window till 01.12.2014 to convert his booklet driving licence into the smart card. Merely because it was in a booklet form and not a smart card, the driving licence cannot be termed as fake. Such interpretation is absolutely contrary to the Notification dated 01.08.2014 of the Transport Authority, Nagaland.”

Advocate J.P.N. Shahi represented the Appellant while Advocate Daljeet Singh represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

The Plaintiff, involved in the business of transport, was the owner of a Tata LPT Truck for which it took the Insurance Policy effective from September 16, 2013, to September 15, 2014, from the Defendant/Appellant Insurance Company. However, unfortunately, the truck met with an accident, and its driver also died. An FIR was registered, and the intimation about the accident was duly conveyed to the Head Office of the Defendant/Appellant. The investigators of the Insurance Company met the representative of the Plaintiff and had a telephonic discussion about the accident. Thereafter, all the documents required by the Insurance Company were duly submitted by the Plaintiff, and the formalities were completed.

The Insurance Company sent a letter stating that the driver's driving license was found to be fake, in terms of the Circular and the claim of the Plaintiff was rejected. The Plaintiff explained that the driving license of the driver was verified on April 23, 2015, by the Plaintiff from the Competent Authority, and it was found that the license covered the date of the accident. The Plaintiff filed a suit for recovery of Rs. 13,77,500 along with interest. The District Judge concluded that the insurance claim of the Plaintiff/Respondent had been wrongly rejected and thereby decreed the Suit for Rs13,77,500. Aggrieved thereby, the Appellant Insurance Company approached the High Court.

Reasoning

On a perusal of the facts of the case, the Bench noted that the driving licence of the deceased driver, in booklet form, was issued on January 14, 2010 and was thereafter renewed. The same was valid at the time of the accident. The Bench noted that, as per the Notification dated August 1, 2014, the booklet driving licences had to be converted into a smart card by December 1, 2014. It was noticed that the accident happened on July 11, 2014, i.e., before the last date for getting the driving licence converted into a smart card.

As per the Bench, the District Judge had rightly noted that the window for converting the booklet driving licence into the smart card was still available with the driver. “The learned District Judge has rightly concluded that the Insurance Company had not been able to prove that the driving licence of the deceased driver was not genuine or that there was a breach of any terms and conditions of the Insurance Policy”, it added.

The contention that the driver was less than 20 years old at the time of the accident was also disproved based on his driving licence. The Bench was also of the view that the bald assertion that the deceased was not a resident of Nagaland was not enough to discharge the onus of proving the driving licence to be fake by the Insurance Company.

Thus, finding no merit in the appeal, the Bench dismissed the same.

Cause Title: The New India Assurance Company Ltd. v. M/s Kapoor Diesels Garage Pvt. Ltd. (Neutral Citation: 2026:DHC:2672)

Appearance

Appellant: Advocates J.P.N. Shahi, Divyanshu Kumar

Respondent: Advocate Daljeet Singh

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