No Deemed Continuity Of Expired Driving Licence After 2019 MV Act Amendment: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has clarified that there is no deemed continuity of a driving licence after its expiry under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, and that a licence holder becomes legally incompetent to drive from the very next day of expiry unless the licence is renewed.
A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Madhu Jain made the observation while allowing a writ petition filed by the Delhi Police and setting aside an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which had granted relief to a candidate seeking appointment as Constable (Driver)-Male.
The candidate had applied pursuant to a recruitment notice which required possession of a valid Heavy Motor Vehicle (HMV) driving licence as on the last date of application, July 29, 2022. Although he cleared all stages of the selection process and was issued a provisional offer, his candidature was rejected at the stage of document verification.
It was found that his licence had expired on July 10, 2022 and was renewed only on August 5, 2022, i.e., after the cut-off date.
The Tribunal had ruled in his favour, holding that since the renewal application was made within the earlier statutory grace period of thirty days, the licence should be treated as continuously valid.
Rejecting this reasoning, the High Court observed that earlier, Section 15(1) of the MV Act deemed the expired licence to be valid for next 30 days without interruption, the amended Section 15(1) provides that a licence shall be renewed from the date of its renewal.
“A plain reading of the amended provisions makes it abundantly clear that the Legislature has consciously deleted the earlier statutory grace period of thirty days. Under the unamended regime, the license continued to remain effective for thirty days post-expiry and renewal within that period related back to the date of expiry. However, after the Amendment Act was enforced, this legal position no longer survives. The proviso to Section 14 of the pre-amendment Act, granting an automatic extension to license for a period of thirty days, also stands omitted by the Amendment Act,” it observed.
Applying this position, the Court held that the candidate did not possess a valid licence on the cut-off date and therefore failed to meet an essential eligibility condition.
As such, it rejected the candidature and allowed Delhi Police's plea.
Appearance: Mr. Animesh Rastogi, SPC along with Ms. Neha Rastogi, Mr. Shashank Pandey, Mr. Ashutosh Pathak, Advs. for Petitioners; Ms. Esha Mazumdar, Ms. Muskan Sharma, Advs. for Respondent
Case title: Delhi Police & Anr. v. Sudheer Kumar
Case no.: W.P.(C) 17015/2025