Indian court expected to sentence Uber rapist on Tuesday

The Uber driver could face life in jail for rape, abduction of his 25-year-old passenger

NEW DELHI: An Indian court is expected Tuesday to sentence an Uber driver for raping a female passenger in New Delhi, a case that sparked fresh fears in a city hit by sexual violence.

Shiv Kumar Yadav could face life in jail for the rape and abduction of his 25-year-old passenger as she returned home from dinner with friends last December.



A Delhi court convicted Yadav of four charges last month but sentencing was delayed because of a shortage of police in the Indian capital, where a summit of African leaders was being held at the time.

"The final argument on quantum (of punishment) and sentencing will happen in the second half of tomorrow," public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava told AFP on Monday.

The prosecution is expected to argue for the maximum punishment.
Yadav was tried by one of the fast-track courts introduced in 2013 following the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in Delhi, a crime that sparked nationwide protests about women's safety in India.

India recorded 36,735 rape cases in 2014, with 2,096 of them in Delhi alone. Experts say those figures are likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg.



California-based Uber was accused of failing to conduct adequate background checks after it emerged that Yadav had been accused of assaulting other women, although he had no previous convictions.

The company was officially banned from Delhi, but the ban has not been well enforced and Uber cars continue to operate in the capital.
Uber set up its India operation in September 2013 and now does business in more than a dozen cities.