Uber champions its “industry-leading standards” for vetting its drivers. On its website, it describes its background checks as “often more rigorous” than those in the traditional taxi industry. The Delhi rape case by an Uber driver reveals the difference between the vow and the delivery.

But in statehouses across the US, Uber has fought against legislation requiring background checks as strong as those demanded of traditional taxis. Other ride-sharing companies like Lyft and Sidecar, Uber’s chief rivals, have also pushed against the laws, but supporters of stronger background checks say Uber has been by far the most aggressive.

In Colorado, the company helped persuade lawmakers to ease drivers’ background checks in a Bill that legalised ride-sharing companies. In Illinois, after a lobbying push, governor Pat Quinn vetoed a Bill that would have forced Uber to strengthen those checks.

At the same time, the rigour of Uber’s checks has come into question. On Monday, Uber was banned in New Delhi after a driver was accused of raping a customer; New Delhi authorities said the driver, who was previously accused of raping another female passenger in 2011, was not properly vetted by Uber.

Uber vigorously defended its process. “Uber is on track to complete more than two million background checks in 2014,” said Lane Kasselman, an Uber spokesman. “It’s a responsibility we take seriously.”

Uber, a five-year-old company that has raised about $2.7 billion in cash and is valued by investors at over $40 billion, is in the limelight these days. On Monday, a Dutch court barred UberPop, the company’s low-cost service, from operating in the Netherlands; that same day, the city of Portland, Oregon, sued Uber, saying it was operating an “illegal, unregulated transportation service”. In Spain on Tuesday, a judge issued a temporary ban against Uber’s operations after protests from the country’s taxi associations.

Background checks have become a hot point of debate, with the New Delhi case just the most recent to raise the issue.

This year, an Uber driver who had been convicted of reckless driving in Florida was arrested in San Francisco in the death of a 6-year-old girl. The child’s family filed a wrongful-death suit. On Monday, the driver was charged with misdemeanour vehicular manslaughter.

Last year, an Uber driver was accused of assaulting a passenger in San Francisco; he was previously convicted of a felony drug charge, an offence that should have disqualified him from working for Uber under its own procedures.

On Tuesday, the district attorney of San Francisco, George Gascón, announced that he had filed a civil suit against Uber, saying the company had misled consumers about its background checks. Lyft settled similar claims with the district attorney.

“You are not using an ‘industry-leading’ background check process if you are not fingerprinting your drivers,” Gascón said at a news conference.