NEW DELHI: A court trying a teenager over the fatal gang rape of a student last December on a bus in the capital delayed announcing the first verdict in the case yesterday, lawyers said.
The juvenile court has finished hearing the case of the teenager, who was aged 17 at the time of the deadly assault which shocked India and sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests.
The verdict had been deferred from July 11 to July 25 and was again delayed yesterday by principal magistrate Geetanjli Goel to August 5 because of a legal challenge.
“The reason is because there is a case pending in the Supreme Court,” defence lawyer Rajesh Tiwari told reporters outside.
Politician Subramanian Swamy, the head of Janata Party, has filed a petition arguing that suspects aged over 16 who are accused of serious offences should be tried in adult courts.
The trial of the adult suspects — one of whom died in jail from a suspected suicide in March — continues in a separate court.
The juvenile, a runaway who reportedly left home aged 11, can be sent to a correctional facility for a maximum three-year term, which will take into account the time he has already spent in custody.
The teenager was employed to clean the bus allegedly used for the attack.
He has denied any involvement in the crime.
AFP
