NEW DELHI // An Indian court on Tuesday sentenced an Uber driver to life in prison for raping a young woman passenger, in a case that highlighted the dangers faced by women from violent sex attackers.
The Delhi court last month convicted Shiv Kumar Yadav of raping and abducting the 25-year-old passenger as she returned home from dinner with friends in December.
Yadav, dressed in a white checked shirt, wiped tears from his cheeks as the judge read out the sentencing, the maximum possible jail term for rape.
He was found guilty last month of four charges -- rape, abduction, intimidation and causing harm. The victim fell asleep on her way home, and Yadav drove to a secluded place and attacked her.
“He will serve rigorous imprisonment, which shall mean imprisonment till natural death,” judge Kaveri Baweja told the court in New Delhi.
Yadav got his job with Uber with fake references, enabling him to hide his criminal record. The California-based company, valued at US$50 billion (Dh183.6bn) this year, was banned in Delhi as a result and has only recently regained the right to operate after tightening driver checks.
The case revived memories of the horrific rape and murder on a moving bus of a young physiotherapist in Delhi in 2012, a crime that sparked nationwide protests about women’s safety.
The rape occurred days before the second anniversary of that notorious attack, which earned Delhi the title of India’s “rape capital”, and returned the issue of violence against women to the spotlight.
The authorities fast-tracked Yadav’s trial to meet the public’s demand for swift justice.
“We are happy that justice has been delivered and that the process didn’t take that long,” said Madhur Verma, deputy commissioner with the Delhi police.
Yadav’s lawyer, DK Mishra, said he would appeal against the sentence in a higher court. “My client is innocent,” he told reporters after the sentence was passed.
The passenger also sued Uber in a US federal court in January, but later withdrew her suit.
Indian authorities face sustained criticism for not doing enough to address a weak system of law enforcement and policing that leaves women vulnerable to sex crimes.
Politicians often blame rape victims for the crime committed against them in comments that reflect entrenched patriarchal attitudes in India.
In 2014, 36,735 rapes were committed – with 2,096 of them in Delhi alone. That same year, nearly 338,000 crimes against women were reported, according to data from India’s national crime records bureau. Experts say those figures are likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg.
Yadav’s sentencing was delayed from October 23 because of a shortage of police in the Indian capital, which was preparing to host a summit of African leaders.
Defence lawyer Dharmender Kumar Mishra has already said his client would appeal the verdict, calling the investigation “flawed”.
After the December incident, Uber introduced safety measures and tightened driver checks. A court recently revoked the ban on the company’s services in Delhi.
Last month, the federal government released guidelines to regulate online taxi companies, saying they should do stringent security checks and not contract anyone convicted of a “cognizable offence” under India’s criminal laws.
* Reuters and Agence France-Presse
