New Delhi:
A magistrate at Delhi's Juvenile Justice Board is expected to decide today whether the school certificate of one of the accused in the Delhi gang-rape case is valid or not. The suspect has claimed he is 17 years old. The Delhi police had earlier filed a plea seeking a bone ossification test to determine his exact age.
According to a certificate presented by his school, the suspect is 17 years old. If the Juvenile Board rules that the certificate is valid, he be will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act for the crime, and faces a much lighter sentence - up to a maximum of three years in a juvenile remand home - than the other five accused in the case who could get life terms.
The six men are accused of gang-raping and brutally assaulting a medical student on December 16 last year. The incident sparked outrage in the country and people took to the streets to demand the most stringent punishment for the accused.
'Amanat' (NOT her real name) fought a valiant battle for her life in hospital for 13 days, but her injuries were too severe and she died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.
All the accused were arrested within days of the horrific assault. The case was committed to a fast-track court on January 17. Defence lawyers of the five men charged with rape and murder under sections of the Indian Penal Code are scheduled to argue on the framing of charges at this court today.