A juvenile court in Delhi is set to deliver its first verdict on Thursday on one of five suspects on trial for the fatal gang-rape of a student on a moving bus on December 16, 2012, which sparked off a national outcry.
The juveniles' court has reportedly finished hearing the case of the teenager (one of the accused in the case), aged 17 at the time of the crime, who faces a maximum sentence of three years in a correctional facility if found guilty.
The sentence is likely to cause further outrage in a country attempting to turn a rising tide of violence against women and which has passed a new law toughening sentences for adults convicted of sex crimes.
The victim's family has led calls for the teenager to be tried as an adult, alongside five men initially arrested over the brutal gang-rape.
The 23-year-old victim died in a Singapore hospital after 13 days on December 28.
The trial of four adult suspects continues but is expected to wrap up in the next few months, with the men facing a possible death sentence if convicted of rape and murder.
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The fifth adult, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in jail.
A government panel set up after the Delhi gang-rape to recommend changes to sex crime laws rejected calls to lower the age at which people can be tried as adults from 18 to 16.