The Hidden Gem of Vicarious Liability in Nadeem Mustaqeem Khan v. S.K. Singh

I was interning at a law firm when our client was involved in a freak accident – the driver of the car that hit our client was an employee of a transport company. We filed a case under the Motor Vehicles Act, but the transport company's insurance company was arguing that there was no vicarious liability, as the employee was not on a 'prohibited act' while driving. But we discovered Nadeem Mustaqeem Khan (2004 SCC 13), where the SC laid down a broad definition of 'prohibited act'. It was a game-changer for our case! The Court ruled that even if the employee was not on duty, he was still driving the company's vehicle, and hence, the company was vicariously liable.