IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.2070 of 2004 (O&M) Date of decision:23.09.2010 National Insurance Company Limited ....Appellant versus Raghbir Singh and others ...Respondents II. FAO No.2071 of 2004 (O&M) National Insurance Company Limited ....Appellant versus Buta Singh and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Mr. L.M.Suri, Senior Advocate, with Mr. Neeraj Khanna, Advocate, for the appellant. None for the respondents. ---- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? ---- K.Kannan, J.(Oral) 1. In both the cases, the Insurance Company is in appeal denying liability on the ground that the driver did not have an effective driving licence at the relevant time of the accident. The appeal, at the time of admission, had been ordered only for consideration on this issue against the 5th respondent and dismissed the appeal against the claimants. FAO No.2070 of 2004 (O&M) - 2 - 2. It is brought out in evidence which was admitted that the driver's licence was valid from 24.12.1999 to 23.12.2002 and it was subsequently renewed on 19.05.2003 for a period of three years. The accident took place on 01.05.2003. Evidently, the driver did not have a driving licence on the date of the accident. The renewal had come about beyond a period of 30 days from the date of expiry of the licence and after the accident. The Tribunal held that he had not been disqualified to hold the licence to find the insurer liable. This is not a correct statement of law and conflicts with the position of law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in National Insurance Company Limited Versus Jarnail Singh-2007(15) SCC 28. The awards of the Tribunal are modified and the Insurance Company will have a right of recovery against the insured on the finding that the driver was not duly licensed and the insured had committed breach of terms of the policy. 3. The appeals are allowed on the above terms. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 23.09.2010 sanjeev