India, Aug. 5 -- The Supreme Court's landmark directions to crack down on uninsured vehicles have put the spotlight on a basic question many vehicle owners may now face - how to buy or renew motor insurance.

A bench of justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra on Tuesday directed the Centre and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to evolve a pilot project under which uninsured vehicles could be denied fuel at petrol pumps, HT earlier reported. It also ordered a technology-driven enforcement mechanism to automatically identify and penalise uninsured vehicles.

Observing that nearly 56 per cent of vehicles plying on Indian roads remain uninsured, the bench said the statutory safeguard of compensating r...