In a relief to a vehicle owner, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 8) observed that the insurance company cannot recover the compensation amount from the vehicle owner merely because the driver was found to be using a fake license.

A bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria said that a vehicle owner is not expected to verify the credentials of the driver's license from the issuing authority whether it is fake or not. Only when the insurance company proves that there was an absence of due diligence in the employment of the driver or the entrustment of the vehicle, the liability would shift to the insured-vehicle owner.

“As has been rightly held by the precedents above noticed, the owner of a vehicle employing a driver can only look at the licence produced by the person see

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