Finally, some kind of retribution seems possible for a rape victim! The 25-year-old woman who got raped by an Uber driver in New Delhi in December 2014 has sued the online car service, Uber, in the US Federal Court for failing to ‘maintain basic standards’ for hiring drivers.
The suit was filed in San Francisco alleging negligence against the taxi company, saying that Uber was aware of 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav’s criminal past. The woman has also asked the court to direct Uber to “promptly implement improved safety,” and for specific safety norms such as a dedicated 24/7 customer support service, a panic button, the option of asking for female drivers, and for registered sex offenders to be banned from applying as Uber drivers.
Now, everybody knows that even monetary compensation by Uber cannot make up for the victim’s traumatic experience. But it is clever of the victim and her counsel to sue the Uber in US court. Given the tortoise-like speed of court trials in India, the victim stands a better chance of getting some kind of court verdict compelling Uber to adopt better safety standards and justice done within the next two years.
In fact, given the kind of safety record that Uber has even in the US and the UK, we hope that their other victims too follow suit with mass torts.
But, that aside, the Delhi victim will probably be the first rape victim in India to even have some chance of a retribution, primarily because this cab company is based in the US. For the other victims, it is the same old miserable grind of scouring the courts for years to try and get justice while the offender roams scot free, and face stigma from the society on top of it too.
It is not just the courts. It begins right with lodging of FIR with the police. In many cases, the police take years to even charge-sheet the case. So even if rape is a non-bailable offence, the court has no option but to grant bail to the accused after 90 days, because the police is yet to charge-sheet the case. It often puts the victims in a vulnerable position. And then begins the interminable wait for the trial to begin. With trial dates getting postponed or only available a few years down the line, it gives ample time for the offender to either vanish from sight or threaten the victim to drop the charges.
Two years ago, when the Nirbhaya episode happened, there were many instances of journalists digging up old rape incidents to see how the victims were faring. As a journalist working for a newspaper then, I spoke with a victim who had been waiting for eight years for her trial to begin! In her case, the police took three months to lodge an FIR and that was also done only after she approached the Madras High Court with this issue. From there, it took over 3 years to charge-sheet the case and much harassment ensued in between.
Small wonder then that conviction rate for rape cases remains abysmal. Crime statistics by the National Crime Record Bureau for the year 2014 are not out yet, but 2013 stats show that conviction rate for rape cases in India is a woeful 27.1%. This means of the 33, 707 cases filed in 2013, more than 24,573 cases still remain pending. A staggering figure!
Given our large and sluggish bureaucracy, both at centre and the state, one feels faint to even contemplate trying for a change and where do one EVEN begin from? All that one can do is twiddle thumbs in frustration while we wait for justice, it seems.
In the light of all this, it is happy news indeed that at least one victim found a better door to knock at for justice, where there is some chance perhaps of speedy and just retribution of sorts. Good luck to her!
Image Courtesy: BCCL
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