Yadav raped a woman passenger last year.
By Sreekanth A Nair
A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced to life serial rapist Shiv Kumar Yadav, a former Uber cab driver, for raping and endangering the life of a 25-year-old woman in his taxi on December 5 last year.
“Convict is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment till his remaining natural life for the offence under section 376 (2)(m) (committing rape causes grievous bodily harm) of the IPC,” the judge said.
A fine of Rs 21000 was also imposed on him. He was found guilty on October 20.
According to the prosecution, Yadav raped the survivor, a finance executive working in Gurgaon, when she was returning to her house in Inderlok on the night of December 5, 2014. The prosecution had produced 28 witnesses in support of its argument.
Yadav was arrested on December 7 from Mathura.
The court also instructed the Delhi Legal Services Authority to give compensation to the victim and to take care of the family of Yadav comprising his father, mother, wife and children.
The incident raised serious concerns over the safety of women and government faced severe criticism for not taking any action effectively to ensure the safety of women.
The license of Uber was cancelled after the incident. Later it was set aside by Delhi High Court.
During the argument, Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava had asked for maximum punishment.
The lawyer of the accused, Dharmendra Kumar, argued that Yadav had been acquitted in another rape case and he “hadn’t been produced in any of the other cases.” He also told the court that there was nobody other than Yadav to support his family.
Yadav’s father, wife and children were present in the courtroom along with other relatives. They broke into tears soon after hearing the judgment.
It is learned that five cases of similar nature had been registered against him, after the arrest of Yadav in relation to this case.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had revoked the order of the Delhi High Court allowing the accused to re-examine 13 prosecution witnesses, including the victim.