In Brief
On 12 November 2005, a motorcycle collided with a car insured with Bajaj Allianz. The injured motorcyclists claimed compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act. The insurance company appealed, arguing the car driver's licence had expired in 2003. However, the original licence showed validity until 29 April 2011—calculated under the statutory formula (20 years or until age 50, whichever was earlier; the driver turned 50 on 30 April 2011). The registering authority's dispatch register contradicted the licence itself. The Supreme Court held that a register entry alone cannot override the original licence, especially where the authority subsequently renewed it twice and even converted it to cover commercial vehicles. Such renewals would never have occurred if the original licence was genuinely invalid. The Court allowed the appeals and set aside directions for the insurance company to recover the awarded amount from the driver and vehicle owner.
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