NEW DELHI: An Indian court sent the Uber taxi driver accused of raping a young passenger to judicial custody for two weeks, after the attack in New Delhi led the government to request a nationwide ban on the popular US online cab company.

Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey on Wednesday ordered the accused Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, to be kept in Delhi's Tihar jail until December 24. He also asked the police to explain steps taken against Uber executives.

The case has caused uproar in India after it emerged that the suspect had been previously charged with sexual offences, including rape. Uber failed to uncover the charges because it does not carry out background checks on drivers in India.

Police said the 32-year-old driver dropped the woman home after attacking her and warned her not to inform the authorities. She managed to note the driver's number and take a photograph of his car, they said. The accused was arrested for raping a woman three years ago but was later acquitted, said Madhur Verma, deputy commissioner with the Delhi police.

Read further: Indian Uber driver accused of rape previously arrested for assault

Another woman has said she warned Uber about the behaviour of one of its drivers 10 days before he allegedly raped the young passenger in Delhi.

Nidhi Shah said she complained to the web-based taxi service after the driver stared at her and smiled “creepily” during a November 26 journey in the Indian capital.

More on this: Another woman had 'warned' Uber about Delhi driver accused of rape

India's capital has decided to ban all internet-based taxi firms after the female passenger reported she was raped by the driver contracted Uber, a government official said on Tuesday.

Also read: Delhi to ban all internet taxi firms after Uber rape claim

Uber was blacklisted in New Delhi on Monday after police said it had failed to run background checks on the driver, who was arrested three years ago in a similar case but later acquitted.

The ban is a blow for Uber, which has courted acclamation and controversy around the world with a service based on hailing taxis from a smartphone app. It has faced restrictions in other countries after licensed taxi operators claimed the service was competing unfairly.

The service, which uses private cars rather than licensed cabs, promises a quicker response time that is often less than 10 minutes. Drivers respond using their own Uber-provided smartphones mounted on the dashboard and follow a GPS map to an exact location.