New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court has ruled that reporters from newspapers will be allowed to attend and report on the trial of four men accused of raping and murdering a medical student on a moving bus in Delhi in December.
The trial was being held in-camera or behind closed doors on the orders of the special fast-track court in south Delhi commissioned to handle the case. The media could not report on what witnesses said in court, for example.
Six men were arrested for the horrific assault on the student, which included violating her with an iron rod. One of them, a 17-year-old, is being tried by a juvenile court. Of the five adults, the alleged mastermind Ram Singh committed suicide earlier this month by hanging himself in his cell at Tihar Jail.
December's attack on the student made international headlines and forged massive street protests in India, resulting in new and tough laws to punish crimes against women.
The laws - cleared by Parliament this week - recognise stalking and voyeurism as criminal offences and provide for the death penalty for extreme cases of rape which leave the victim dead or in coma.