Minor accused in Delhi gang rape

One of the accused in the Delhi gang- rape has been declared a minor by the Juvenile Justice Board, a lawyer said yesterday.

After a hearing before the board, prosecutor Ishkaran Singh Bhandari said the determination had been made on the basis of the date of birth on his school certificate.

“June 4, 1995 has been taken as his date of birth,” said Bhandari. “The date of gang- rape was December 16, 2012. So, as per the calculation, the accused comes below the age of 18 years on the date of the offence. Thus, the board declared him as juvenile.”

The birth certificate of the accused was presented before the juvenile board by his school principal, who came from Uttar Pradesh, Bhandari said.

On conducting a bone ossification test, which helps judge a person’s age, on the accused, assistant prosecutor Supriya Banerjee said they would be approaching a higher court.

“As per the law and the earlier judgment of the Supreme Court, the bone ossification test is done once the school certificate is not there or if there was any doubt in birth certificate and school certificate,” she said.

“We will be approaching the higher court for the bone ossification test of the juvenile. All these questions will be raised in the higher court.”

Besides the juvenile, five other accused were involved in brutal attack on a 23- year- old trainee physiotherapist in a moving bus.

She died 13 days later from her injuries after the government airlifted her to a Singapore hospital.

Due to the seriousness and outrage which followed, the five accused are facing trial in a fast- track court in Saket, south Delhi.

If it is established that the accused is a juvenile, he cannot be tried like the other five accused and may be sent to a correction home. The other accused potentially face a death sentence.