Indian Contract Act, 1872
195. Agent's duty in naming such person
In selecting such agent for his principal, an agent is bound to
exercise the same amount of discretion as a man of ordinary prudence would
exercise in his own case; and, if he does this, he is not responsible to the
principal for the acts of negligence of the agent so selected.
Illustrations
(a) A instructs B, a merchant, to buy a ship for him. B employs
a ship-surveyor of good reputation to choose a ship for A. The surveyor makes
the choice negligently and the ship turns out to be unseaworthy and is lost. B
is not, but the surveyor is, responsible to A.
(b) A consigns goods to B, a merchant, for sale. B, in due
course, employees an auctioneer in good credit to sell the goods of A, and
allows the auctioneer to receive the proceeds of the sale. The auctioneer
afterwards becomes insolvent without having accounted for the proceeds. B is
not responsible to A for the proceeds.