A Delhi court on framed charges against the driver of US-based cab service provider Uber for alleged rape and kidnapping, amid some drama by him inside the court room.
Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja framed charges against Shiv Kumar Yadav, accused of raping a 25-year-old woman executive, for offences under sections 376(2)(m) (while committing rape causing grievous bodily harm or endangering life of a woman), 366 (kidnapping or abducting woman with an intent to compel her for marriage), 506(criminal intimidation) and 323(voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.
The judge also ordered trial on day-to-day basis in the case from January 15.
The court framed charges against 32-year-old Yadav after he pleaded not guilty.
Yadav created a bit of a drama by initially refusing to sign on the charge order and arguing with the judge, while alleging that arguments on charges were not advanced in his presence and claiming that he was not given a chance to engage a lawyer for himself.
Later, after being assured by the judge that nothing wrong was being done to him and all legal procedures were being followed by the court, he agreed and gave it in writing that he was signing the order on charge at his own will.
The police had filed the charge sheet 19 days after the incident on the night of December 5 last year when the victim, who worked for a finance company in Gurgaon, was headed back home in Delhi's Inderlok area.
During the last hearing on January 9, the court had reserved its order on framing of charge after hearing arguments, during which the police asserted that scientific, medical and other evidence showed beyond doubt that Yadav had raped the woman passenger.
The counsel appearing for Yadav, however, had claimed that as per the victim's medical report no injury was found on her body and she was tutored before recording her statement under the Criminal Procedure Code before a magistrate.
The metropolitan magistrate, on January 5, had taken cognizance of the charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police and committed it to the sessions court for further proceedings.
As per the charge sheet, the woman had identified Yadav as the one who had raped her when she was coming out of a court room in Tis Hazari District courts after recording her statement on December 8.
It said the victim had gone that day to record her statement under section 164 of CrPC before Metropolitan Magistrate Riya Guha and saw Yadav while he was coming out from another court where he was produced after his arrest.
Yadav was arrested on December 7 from Mathura in a joint operation by Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police and produced before the court on December 8.
In the charge sheet, the police relied on the forensic evidence and also placed on record the route map of the car in which the offence was committed.
Yadav had refused to undergo Test Identification Parade, saying the woman had already seen his photograph in Uber's website and she would definitely identify him.
TIP is a process under the criminal law through which a victim of a crime identifies an accused.
The police had also told the court that Yadav was hired by Uber, claiming that the company had not verified his particulars. The police have lodged a case of cheating against the firm.
Image: Shiv Kumar Yadav, the cab drive accused of raping a 25-year-old woman executive.
