Delhi rape case: Uber driver gets life term

Uber cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav will spend the rest of his life behind the bars, with a Delhi court on Tuesday sentencing him for the "remainder of his life" for raping a woman executive in his taxi 11 months ago. The court observed his acts were "against the society", which 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 for the offence. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 21,000 on Yadav, which shall go to the victim by way of compensation.

"There can be no doubt the convict... committed the above stated heinous offence, not only against the rape survivor in this case, but also against the society at large," the court said.

"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," it observed.

"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.

The court also directed Delhi Legal Services Authority to consider and make necessary provisions for the care and maintenance of the aged parents, wife and minor children of Yadav.

The incident had taken place on the night of December 5 last year when the 25-year-old victim, a finance executive working in Gurgaon, was heading back to her house at Inderlok in central Delhi.

Yadav was arrested on December 7, 2014, from Mathura and was in judicial custody since then.

The court, which convicted Yadav on October 20, pronounced the sentence after hearing arguments of Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava and defence counsel D K Mishra.

The driver was awarded varying jail terms for the offences under sections 376(2)(m)(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. All sentences will run concurrently, meaning the convict will remain in jail for the rest of his life.

Defence counsel Mishra said he would appeal in the Delhi High Court. "It is disproportionate sentencing to the facts of the case."