Question : Minimum Qualification for Drivers

(a) whether the new Motor Vehicle Act has a provision of minimum Class VIII qualification for drivers and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether this may prove to be a barrier for many trained drivers from backward regions and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;

(c) whether the Rajasthan High Court has recently ordered to withdraw licenses of illiterate drivers on this ground and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;

(d) whether many States have opposed this provision; and

(e) if so, the details thereof along with the steps being taken by the Government in this regard?

THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a) to (e) The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 as introduced in Lok Sabha on 15.07.2019 in clause 5 provides for the omission of current provision under sub-section (4) of Section 9 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 of prescribing such minimum educational qualification by the Central Government. Further, the Government has proposed to remove the condition of mandatory educational qualification required for driving transport vehicles under Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 and issued notification GSR 431 (E) dated 18.06.2019 for seeking comments/objection within one month. These are being proposed as the current provisions posses restrictions to obtain a transport licence for the otherwise eligible unemployed youth and to tide over the shortage of drivers. The Rajasthan High Court vide order dated 24.05.2019 passed in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3926 of 2019 has directed that the licence cannot be allowed to be issued for driving any kind of vehicle to an illiterate person and that the licence for Light Motor Vehicles issued to the petitioner and similar persons also must be therefore withdrawn and action should also be taken where licences have been issued to person who are unable to read and write. This Ministry is contesting the same through the appropriate judicial process.

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