Nearly nine years after a devastating road accident in Mumbai left a teenage girl in a vegetative condition for several months, a local court has imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the driver responsible for the crash. The accused, identified as 66-year-old P Narayanasamy Poosaripadaiyachi, had been driving a Toyota Innova assigned to the then railway commissioner when the incident occurred near Churchgate on May 28, 2017. According to investigators, the vehicle was allegedly moving at nearly 70 kmph when it struck 17-year-old Nidhi Jethmalani at a zebra crossing despite the traffic signal being red at the time of the collision.
Jethmalani, who was reportedly heading to a college for admission to Class 12, suffered severe injuries to her head and waist in the accident. She was immediately taken to hospital by Poosaripadaiyachi and the railway commissioner in the same vehicle involved in the crash. Doctors later performed a right decompressive craniotomy along with lax duraplasty to treat her critical condition. After remaining under medical care for nearly three months, she was eventually discharged. Meanwhile, Poosaripadaiyachi, a Chennai resident, was arrested the same day on charges related to rash and negligent driving before being granted bail within hours of his detention.
On Friday, a Mumbai Chief Judicial Magistrate court found Poosaripadaiyachi guilty of negligent driving and directed him to compensate Jethmalani with a fine amount of Rs 20,000. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Supriya Vijaysinh Nikam noted in the order that the accused had regularly travelled from Chennai to attend court hearings and had retired from service in 2020. The court also observed that he was financially dependent on his pension and described the incident as an unfortunate accident. Taking into account that he was a first-time offender and had already undergone a lengthy trial process, the court decided to adopt a lenient approach while determining the punishment.
The case had earlier seen significant developments in compensation proceedings. In 2021, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded Jethmalani nearly Rs 70 lakh in compensation and additionally created a corpus fund of Rs 1.5 crore to support her future medical expenses and long-term treatment needs. Later, while hearing an appeal filed by her father in 2025, the Bombay High Court compared her condition to that of Aruna Shanbaug, the Mumbai nurse who remained bedridden in a vegetative state for decades after a brutal assault in 1973. The court also directed the Ministry of Railways to reconsider the final settlement demand of Rs 5 crore submitted by the family.