Uber company official was not a competent witness: Court

A Delhi court has sided with the defence taken by the Uber cab rape case convict Shiv Kumar Yadav that the official of the US-based service provider was not a competent witness to prove GPS maps showing location of the taxi driver as submitted in the case by prosecution.
Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja accepted the submission of Yadav's counsel D K Mishra that prosecution should have summoned concerned official from Google instead of Business Head of Uber Asia, Eric Alexander, to prove the maps marking the location and route taken by the driver on the night of December 5, 2014 when the convict raped the woman.

"The defence contended that GPS maps do not indicate the place of alleged incident. Moreover, prosecution witness 28 (Alexander) was not the competent witness to prove these maps and prosecution should have summoned the concerned official from Google to prove the same.
"I find force in the submissions of the defence that PW 28, representative of Uber company was not a competent witness to prove the GPS Maps and thus the same have not been proved as per law," the judge said, while refusing to rely on the maps.
In his testimony, Alexander had told the court that as per his company records, the cab was booked by the victim's friend from the Uber application on his mobile phone to travel from Vasant Vihar and the journey ended in Zakhira here past midnight.

He had submitted documents showing that Yadav was the registered owner of the car and was operating with the cab as driver partner with their company and had supported the details of satellite imagery of GPS route followed by him during the journey.
Regarding the GPS maps submitted by the police, Yadav's counsel had contended that it could not be prepared at the instance of the victim as she had deposed that she was not aware of the spot he took her to.