The Supreme Court of Russia has ruled that revoking a driver's license is illegal if the identity of the offender has not been reliably confirmed. According to RIA Novosti, the highest court terminated the case against Dmitry Shelukhin, a resident of the Novosibirsk region, whose guilt was based solely on a photograph from the GIBDD database and information provided by others.

The situation arose after a Toyota car was stopped in Biysk, where the driver, showing signs of intoxication, introduced himself with someone else's name. The magistrate considered the identity established and fined Shelukhin 30,000 rubles and revoked his license for a year and a half. The appeal and cassation upheld the decision, although the man insisted that his cousin was driving.

The Supreme Court indicated that the issue of identity verification is fundamental, and all irresolvable doubts must be interpreted in favor of the person being held accountable. The judges emphasized that Shelukhin's arguments of non-involvement were consistently stated but not verified. As a result, the decisions of the lower courts were overturned, and the proceedings in the case were terminated. The protest to the Supreme Court was filed by the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation.

A criminal case for negligence has been initiated against the traffic police inspectors. Shelukhin's cousin confirmed the use of another person's name.

The decision effectively sets a precedent: identifying a person solely by a picture from the GIBDD database and their own words can no longer serve as grounds for license revocation.

Previously, we reported on the case of a Karelia resident who was deprived of his license for drinking alcohol while waiting for a GIBDD inspector after an accident: the highest court recognized such actions as illegal, imposing a fine of 30,000 rubles and license revocation for a year and a half — the same penalties as in Shelukhin's current case.

Another Supreme Court decision also deserves special attention, which effectively exempted drivers from the obligation to carry a paper OSAGO policy: the electronic version of the document was recognized as sufficient for presentation to an inspector.

According to data we provided earlier, in 2025, courts issued about 280,000 orders for license revocation — the lowest since 2022, with more than 210,000 of them related specifically to driving while intoxicated or refusing medical examination.