JOIN USDelhi Uber cab driver gets life term for rape
A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced Uber cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav for the “remainder of his life” for raping a woman executive in his taxi 11 months ago.
The court observed that his acts were “against the society” and should be dealt with an “iron hand”. Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja handed down the punishment to 33-year-old Yadav under the new rape law.
The court, which convicted Yadav on October 20, gave the sentence after hearing arguments of Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava and defence counsel D K Mishra.
“Convict is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment till reminder of his natural life for the offence under Section 376 (2)(m) (committing rape causes grievous bodily harm) of the IPC,” the judge said.
Yadav was also punished for offences under sections 366 (abducting with an intent to compel her for marriage), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (causing hurt) of the IPC.
Besides the jail term, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 21,000 on Yadav which shall go to the victim by the way of compensation.
“He endangered the life of the victim while committing rape upon her and his act demands imposition of most severe punishment so that it acts as a deterrent and rebuilds the public confidence in the efficacy of the law,” the court said.
As the sentence was pronounced in the jampacked courtroom, Yadav’s wife started screaming and crying inconsolably before fainting, while the victim’s parents quietly left the court with tears in their eyes.
Victim’s family satisfied
“We are highly satisfied because he got the maximum sentence provided under the law. It could not have been better for us,” the victim’s father said after the verdict.
In its nine-page order, the court also recommended that adequate compensation be awarded to the victim, which would be decided by the Delhi Legal Aid Services under the provisions of the CrPC and the victim compensation scheme.
The court also directed the Delhi Legal Services Authority to consider and make necessary provisions for the care and maintenance of aged parents, wife and minor children of Yadav.
The incident had taken place on the night of December 5 last year when the victim, a finance executive working in Gurgaon, was returning home at Inderlok in central Delhi.
Yadav was arrested on December 7, 2014, from Mathura and was in judicial custody since then. Mishra, however, said its was not the end of the road and he would approach the high court.