Worli jogger accident: Court grants bail to accused car driver Sumer Merchant

The relief for the Tardeo resident has come after he spent around three-and-half months in prison. The court has ordered him not to contact any prosecution witnesses and also attend all the hearings without seeking exemption on any of the dates during the trial

MUMBAI: A sessions court on Friday granted bail to 23-year-old Sumer Merchant, who was arrested for running over a 58-year-old jogger, Rajalakshmi Vijay Ramakrishnan, at Worli sea face on March 19.

Mumbai, India - March 20, 2023: Accused Sumer Dharmesh Merchant (23) (Black T-shirt) produced before the Bhoiwada Court by Mumbai police, in the accident case that hit 58-year-old Rajalakshmi Vijay, CEO of a tech firm by his speeding car while jogging along Worli sea face early on Sunday, killing her on the spot, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March 20, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The sessions court ordered Merchant to be released on a personal bond of ₹15,000 and two sureties in the same amount. The relief for the Tardeo resident has come after he spent around three-and-half months in prison. The court has ordered him not to contact any prosecution witnesses and also attend all the hearings without seeking exemption on any of the dates during the trial.

The car, driven by Merchant, had hit Rajalakshmi who was flung several feet away and died on the spot. After the deadly incident, Merchant, a Tardeo resident, in his statement to the police claimed that he had partied with friends to celebrate his return from a trip to the US, wherein his friends had consumed alcohol, but he had refrained. However, his blood report showed otherwise.

The alcohol content in his blood report was 137 mg per 100 ml whereas under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the permissible limit is 30 mg per 100 ml. The police have also claimed in the chargesheet filed against Merchant that he was driving the car at the speed of 90 to 100 km per hour.

In his statement, he said that his cousin Dhruv Aggrawal and office colleague Riya Bhatia and others had gone to a club in Kamala Mills at 10:30pm. Later, when the club closed at 1:30am, all his friends decided to go to his house as his parents had gone on holiday.

He further claimed that since he had not slept properly, he did not drink alcohol but his friends consumed alcohol at the club and later at his house. He also said that at around 5:30 am he had gone to drop his friends and Druv to their house when the incident happened.

Riya Bhatia who was also in the car and was sitting behind the driver’s seat, claimed in her statement that Dhruv sat in the front seat next to Merchant and was sleeping. She claimed that Merchant was driving at such speed that she was not able to see anything from the window. She added that Merchant insisted on dropping her home even when she refused him because he had not slept, and that she was willing to take a cab instead.

The police claimed that the car was at high speed and Merchant was under the influence of alcohol and the impact of the accident was so severe that the victim was flung several feet away.