Delhi rape case first verdict due

An Indian juvenile court is due to deliver its verdict on a 18-year-old accused of taking part in the fatal gang rape of a woman on bus in Delhi, BBC reported.

He is charged with rape, murder, destruction of evidence, and other crimes including kidnapping carried out while aged 17.

If convicted, he faces a maximum of three years in a reform facility.

He has denied the charges - as have four adults on trial at a specially convened fast-track court.

They face the death penalty.

A sixth suspect was found dead in jail. Prison officials have said they believe he hanged himself but defence lawyers and his family allege he was murdered.

If found guilty, the 18-year-old can be sent to a reform facility for up to three years. This would include the time he has spent while waiting for the verdict.

"The idea behind the provision is that three years is sufficient time to reform a child", Anant Kumar Asthana, a Delhi-based lawyer told the AFP news agency.

However, many, including the family of the victim, had demanded that the teenager - who was six months short of becoming an adult at the time of the crime - should be treated as an adult and face the death penalty for his alleged crime.