F. A. O. No. 1551 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. Case No. : F. A. O. No. 1551 of 2009 Date of Decision : April 01, 2009 U. P. State Road Transport Corporation .... Appellant Vs. Smt. Attar Kali Devi and others .... Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE L. N. MITTAL * * * Present : Mr. Sandeep Kotla, Advocate for the appellant. * * * L. N. MITTAL, J. (Oral) : This is appeal by U. P. State Road Transport Corporation (owner of the offending bus) assailing Award dated 28.11.2008 passed by learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Faridabad thereby awarding compensation of Rs.3,78,286/- to the claimants i.e. respondents no.1 to 3, in their petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 for the death of Deepak Kumar in a motor vehicle accident. Insurer of the vehicle (respondent no.4 herein) has been held entitled to recover the amount from the owner and driver of the bus after paying the amount to the claimants. I have heard learned counsel for the appellant and perused the case file. Learned counsel for the appellant contended that Ram Bilas driver (respondent no.5 herein) possessed a valid driving license, which F. A. O. No. 1551 of 2009 2 expired on 15.01.2004 and was got renewed on 23.12.2004, whereas the accident occurred on 21.12.2004. It is contended that merely because the driving license had lapsed, the insurer cannot be absolved of its liability to pay the compensation amount. The contention cannot be accepted in view of the ratio of law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Ishwar Chandra & others vs. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. and others reported as 2007 (2) Law Herald (SC) 1090 and also in the case of Ram Babu Tiwari vs. United Indian Insurance Co. Ltd. reported as 2008 (5) Law Herald (SC) 3377. It is established position on record that driving license of the driver had expired more than 11 months before the accident. Application for renewal thereof was also not moved within 30 days of the expiry of license. On the other hand, the license was got renewed w.e.f. 23.12.2004 i.e. two days after the accident. In other words, the driver had no driving license on the date of accident and therefore, the insured appellant committed breach of terms and conditions of insurance policy by handing over the vehicle to the driver, who was not holding valid driving license. Consequently, the insurer has been rightly absolved of its liability and has been given right to recover the compensation amount from the owner and the driver after paying the same to the claimants. The solitary contention raised on behalf of the appellant having thus been found without merit, the appeal is accordingly dismissed. April 01, 2009 ( L. N. MITTAL ) monika JUDGE