Cab Driver Shiv Kumar Yadav Gets Life Sentence For Raping

A trial court on Tuesday handed down life imprisonment to the convicted cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav in the Uber rape case. Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja accepted prosecution's submission that the convict deserves no leniency for the heinous crime.

Apart from the jail term, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 21,000 on Shiv Kumar Yadav. Court also ordered that Yadav's family be rehabilitated and given some compensation on account of their poor financial status. On October 20, the court had convicted Yadav for raping a 25-year-old woman in his taxi on December 5 last year.

Yadav was convicted for offences under Section 376 (2M) (while committing rape causes grievous bodily harm or disfigures or endangers life of a woman), 366 (abducting with an intent to compel her for marriage), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code. The offence of endangering a woman's life while raping her entails a minimum of 10 years rigorous imprisonment and a maximum of life term.

During the hearing, Delhi Police sought maximum punishment of life term for Yadav, citing the gravity of offence. Special public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava submitted that a strong message needs to be sent to the society by awarding maximum punishment in such serious crimes. He also told the court that Yadav has a criminal record and has been involved in such crimes in the past too.

Yadav's counsel DK Mishra, on the other hand, pleaded for leniency and told the court that Yadav has been falsely implicated in the case. Mishra argued that Yadav had been acquitted in all other cases so, it cannot be said that he has a history of committing crimes. "He has been acquitted in all cases except for one in which the court is yet to pass its verdict. It cannot be said that he has a record of committing crimes, "Mishra said.

Yadav, who was produced in court from Tihar jail, appeared stunned with the verdict. His family, which included his parents, wife and children , were also present in the courtroom and the family appeared disappointed with the court's verdict.

Yadav's wife and his two minor children all broke down as soon as the court pronounced its order. The rape occurred on the night of December 5 last year, when the survivor, a finance executive working in Gurgaon, was returning to her house in Inderlok from Gurgaon.

Source - timesofindia