A former Uber driver in Delhi was sentenced
to life in prison today for his rape of a
passenger in 2014—a crime that sparked
international outrage and jeopardized the
ride-sharing service’s business in India .
Shiv Kumar Yadav reportedly hid his criminal
record—including previous sexual assault
charges —to obtain his job as a driver for Uber
months later, on December 5, a 25 year-old
woman got in his car for an Uber ride home
after a night out with her friends. Hours later,
she went to the police to report that she had
fallen asleep during the ride and then Yadav
had parked the car in a secluded area, raped
her, and threatened her before taking her
home.
Her story garnered worldwide headlines,
shattering any illusions customers may have
held about Uber’s guarantees of security and
comfort. How and why Uber approved Yadav’s
hiring without a background check was
distressingly unclear, and the US-based company was subsequently banned from
operating in Delhi (that ban was lifted in July
2015 ). Certain details from the victim’s
account of the incident reminded the public of
a brutal and fatal gang-rape of a medical
student on a bus in 2012, prompting a broader
debate about sexual assault in India.
Yadav was prosecuted in one of Delhi’s “fast
track” courts, created specifically to deal with
sexual assault cases. The court’s guilty verdict
on October 20, 2015—on four different
charges, including rape and intimidation—
carried with it a minimum of 10 years in
prison and a maximum life sentence. Yadav’s
lawyer said his client plans to appeal
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