Mumbai court fines P Narayanasamy ₹20,000 for injuring Nidhi Jethmalani
A Mumbai court has fined 66-year-old P Narayanasamy ₹20,000 for rash driving that left 17-year-old Nidhi Jethmalani in a persistent vegetative state.
The crash happened back in 2017, when Narayanasamy's speeding car hit Nidhi as she crossed Marine Drive.
The court called it a "single lapse on his part" and considered his first-offender status, the fact that the incident was from 2017 and nine years had passed (as of May 2026), that he had already faced the ordeal of trial, and his family background while deciding the penalty.
Jethmalani awarded nearly ₹70L and ₹1.5Cr
Nidhi suffered severe head and waist injuries, spending four months in the hospital.
She was awarded nearly ₹70 lakh plus a ₹1.5 crore corpus, with interest to be used for future medical and other expenses, but her family's larger compensation claim is still stuck with authorities.
Eyewitnesses said the car was speeding, though Narayanasamy denied responsibility; if he doesn't pay the fine, he faces three months in jail.