Driving Without a License Declared Illegal and Non-Bailable Offence; Section 322 PPC Applicable in Fatal Accidents

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has issued a significant ruling concerning public service vehicle driving licenses and road safety, declaring that driving a bus or any public transport vehicle without a valid Public Service Vehicle (PSV) driving license is illegal and that Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), relating to causing death by mistake or negligence, can apply if such driving results in a fatality.

The court rejected the bail petition of a bus driver accused of causing the deaths of four young men in a road accident.

Justice Tanveer Ahmed Sheikh, in his written judgment, held that operating a bus or any public transport vehicle without a PSV license is a clear violation of the law.

The court observed that if a person dies due to the negligence of a driver operating a vehicle without a PSV license, Section 322 PPC would be applicable. Although the basic punishment under the provision is payment of diyat, the offence does not give the accused an automatic legal right to bail.

The judgment stated that bringing an unlicensed vehicle onto the road deliberately exposes the driver, passengers and other members of the public to serious risks.

The court further ruled that driving the bus in such circumstances constituted a clear violation of the Punjab Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1965.

The court found no evidence suggesting that the complainant or bus owners had maliciously implicated the accused. It also held that the accused could not benefit from the fact that his name was not initially mentioned in the FIR or that there had been a delay in recording a supplementary statement.

According to the judgment, an offence under Section 322 PPC is cognizable and non-bailable. The court noted that bail applications must be decided according to the specific facts and circumstances of each case, adding that the driver’s involvement in the tragic accident could not be ruled out at the preliminary stage.

A case against the accused, Riaz Hussain, was registered at Saddar Shujabad Police Station in Multan on November 15, 2025.

According to the case record, Hussain was allegedly driving a bus at high speed when it collided with a motorcycle, resulting in the deaths of all four young men riding the motorcycle at the scene.