Having a Valid Driving License for LMV (Motorcycle and Car) is a must for candidates applying for the post of Sub Inspector in Delhi Police: Delhi High Court

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of decision: 16.12.2021 W.P.(C) 13736 2021 SHRI ARVIND KUMAR Through Mr Mr Ghanshyam Jha Advs. and STAFF SELECTION COMMISSION & ANR. Through Mr Abhishek Singh Adv. for R 1. Mrs Avnish Ahlawat Standing Counsel with Mrs. Tania Ahlawat Mr Nitesh Kumar Singh and Ms. Palak Rohmetra Advs. for R 2. HON BLE MR JUSTICE RAJIV SHAKDHER HON BLE MR JUSTICE TALWANT SINGH Physical Hearing Hybrid HearingRAJIV SHAKDHER J.in O.A. No.1285 2021. The petitioner had applied for the post of Sub Inspector qua which an advertisement was taken out on 03.03.2018which included inter alia Sashastra Seema Bal and Assistant Sub Inspectors in Central Industrial Security Forceand secured for himself 88th rank. 2.2. Although the petitioner has obtained a job in SSB the grievance of W.P.(C)13736 2021 the petitioner is that he was not given the appointment in Delhi Police which was his first preference. What has come in the way of the petitioner is that he did not possess a Light Motor Vehicle license qua a motorcycle which was the requirement for subject post as per the 2018 advertisement. The relevant paragraph of the said advertisement is extracted “5. EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AS ON 01.08.2018 Educational Qualification for all posts is Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university or equivalent. Note I: For the post of Sub Inspector in Delhi Police only: Male candidates must possess a valid Driving License for LMVon the date fixed for Physical Endurance and Measurement Tests. However the candidates who do not have a Valid Driving License for LMVare eligible for all other posts in CAPFs.” On the previous date i.e. 03.12.2021 we had asked Mr Abhishek Singh who appears on behalf of respondent no.1 as well as Mrs Avnish Ahlawat who appears on behalf of respondent no.2 to ascertain as to whether the license obtained for LMV would include a car as well as a motorcycle. 3.1. Mrs Ahlawat has returned with instructions. Mrs Ahlawat says that as per the 2018 advertisement separate license is required for a motorcycle. According to her a LMV license for a car would not take within its ambit a motorcycle. 3.2. Mr Abhishek Singh submits likewise. To emphasise this point our attention has also been drawn to Section 10 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988which reads as follows: “10. Form and contents of licences to drive.—(1) Every learner’s licence and driving licence except a driving licence W.P.(C)13736 2021 issued under section 18 shall be in such form and shall contain such information as may be prescribed by the Central Government. 2) A learner’s licence or as the case may be driving licence shall also be expressed as entitling the holder to drive a motor vehicle of one or more of the following classes namely:— a) motor cycle without gear b) motor cycle with gear c) invalid carriage d) light motor vehicle e) transport vehicle ] i) road roller j) motor vehicle of a specified description.” A perusal of sub section of Section 10 of the M.V. Act 1988 would show that licenses are issued for various classes. As a matter of fact even for motorcycle there are two separate classes i.e. motorcycle without gear or motorcycle with gear. Clearly other vehicles are separately set out in sub sectionof Section 10 of the M.V. Act 1988. 4.2. Concededly on the cut off date i.e. 09.09.2019 the petitioner was unable to obtain a license for motorcycle which was a requirement under the advertisement issued for the subject post i.e. post of Sub inspector available with the Delhi Police. Given this position we are of the view that we cannot persuade ourselves to interfere with the impugned order. The writ petition is accordingly closed. RAJIV SHAKDHER J DECEMBER 16 2021 pmc Click here to check corrigendum if any TALWANT SINGH J W.P.(C)13736 2021 

Summary: A person applying to the post of Sub-inspector in Delhi Police shall not apply unless he has a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) license qua a motorcycle because the eligibility criteria mandate the same and secures posts only to those with the aforementioned license as is decided in the case of Shri Arvind Kumar v. Staff Selection Commission &amp; Another delivered by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Shakdher &amp; Hon’ble Mr. Justice Talwant Singh on December 16, 2021. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner had applied for the post of Sub-Inspector qua which an advertisement was taken out, on 03.03.2018 [in short “2018 advertisement”]. The said advertisement was concerned with the recruitment of Sub-Inspectors in Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), which included, inter alia, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Assistant Sub-Inspectors in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The petitioner qualified the stipulated examination(s) and secured for himself 88th rank. The counsel for the petitioner contends that although the petitioner has obtained a job in SSB, the grievance of the petitioner is that, he was not given the appointment in Delhi Police, which was his first preference. Hence, the petitioner filed this writ petition against the order dated 13.07.2021, passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal in O.A. No.1285/2021. The counsel for the respondent contends that as per the 2018 advertisement, separate license is required for a motorcycle and a LMV license for a car would not take within its ambit a motorcycle. Also, Section 10 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 [in short, “MV Act, 1988”] reads that: “10. Form and contents of licences to drive.—(1) Every learner’s licence and driving licence, except a driving licence issued under section 18, shall be in such form and shall contain such information as may be prescribed by the Central Government. (2) A learner’s licence or, as the case may be, driving licence shall also be expressed as entitling the holder to drive a motor vehicle of one or more of the following classes, namely:— (a) motor cycle without gear; (b) motor cycle with gear; (c) invalid carriage; (d) light motor vehicle; (e) transport vehicle; (i) road-roller; (j) motor vehicle of a specified description.” The counsel for the respondent also contends that by way of the present writ petition, the petitioner seeks to get the job of Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police, which is completely against the rules and further states that the present writ petition is not maintainable. The Court after listening both the parties had ruled that a perusal of sub-section (2) of Section 10 of the M.V. Act, 1988 would show that licenses are issued for various classes. As a matter of fact, even for motorcycle, there are two separate classes i.e., motorcycle without gear or motorcycle with gear. Clearly, other vehicles are separately set out in sub-section (2) of Section 10 of the M.V. Act, 1988. Concededly, on the cut-off date i.e., 09.09.2019, the petitioner neither possessed a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) license qua a motorcycle nor was unable to obtain a license for motorcycle, which was a requirement under the advertisement issued for the subject post i.e., post of Sub-inspector available with the Delhi Police. The Court upheld the order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal and thereby, the writ petition was disposed of in favour of the respondent.