Woman who knocked down rider gets leniency for having 2 kids

A magistrate court showed leniency to a woman homemaker found guilty of rashly driving her car which led to a 23-year-old woman on a two-wheeler suffering grievous injuries in 2015. It considered that she is a woman having children and that sending her to jail will ruin her family.

The victim Gayatri Zaveri had testified in court that she was proceeding to work around 7 am on July 6, 2015, on her Activa scooter when a car rammed into her on the New Link Road in Borivali. Zaveri had said she was flung five feet in the air due to the impact and that she had difficulty breathing immediately after.

Zaveri was taken to Karuna Hospital by the car's driver Rina D’Souza and a passerby. She had suffered a leg fracture and internal chest bleeding due to the accident. The passerby who helped take Zaveri to the hospital also testified as an eye-witness in court.

The court said in its judgment, “...had the accused taken care, the accident could have been avoided… Therefore, clearly it can be said that the accused violated that duty of care and her breach of duty caused the accident.”

D’Souza had sought leniency after being found guilty. She said that it was the first time she was convicted for any offence and that she is a homemaker with two children, one of whom is a minor.

While deciding the quantum of punishment, the court took into consideration that D’Souza is about 50-year-old, has a minor son and daughter, and that her family depends on her. It also noted that she had taken the victim to the hospital and not fled the spot. “If she is sent to jail, her family will be ruined,” metropolitan magistrate AP Khanorkar said in the judgment passed on April 6.

The court then extended the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act under which a person, usually young first-time offenders, can be released on a bond of good behaviour, instead of being sentenced.

The court, however, ordered that D’Souza pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 to Zaveri.

“Due to the accident, naturally she may have incurred some expenses in as much as she sustained grievous hurt,” it noted.

Further, due to the accident, it said, she would have undergone mental trauma. The court stated that it would be just and proper that Zaveri be compensated for the mental and physical agony caused due to the accident.

The court took into consideration that the convict is about 50-year-old, has a minor son and daughter, and that her family depends on her