Delhi rape case suspects appear in court
By Amy Kazmin in New Delhi
A special fast-track Indian court established to try five men accused of a gang rape and murder in New Delhi will be closed to the public.
Hundreds of people jostled to get inside the courtroom during the suspects’ first appearance on Monday.
The decision to close the court came just before the five men accused of the attack on a 23-year-old physiotherapy student appeared before a judge for the first time and were formally presented with charges of rape, murder, abduction and other crimes in connection with the assault.
Police had expressed concern over the security of the five, given the national furore, and mass protests that were unleashed by the December 16 attack on the young woman, who died from her injuries two weeks later.
“Keeping in view the sensitivity of this case that has risen, the proceedings, including the inquiry and trial, are to be held in camera,” the magistrate, Namrita Aggarwal, said as she ordered the packed courtroom to be cleared.
Inside the courtroom before the proceedings began there was a disruptive scrum, with hundreds of journalists from India and around the world, civilian spectators and police all pushing for space.
Lawyers from the local bar association, whose members have refused to represent the suspects loudly heckled two attorneys who volunteered to provide defence counsel.
“Every accused, including those in brutal offences like this, has the legal right to representation in his or her case to defend themselves,” Mohand Lal Sharma, one of the volunteer lawyers, said.
Two of the accused applied at the weekend to turn state witnesses and testify against the other three, presumably in exchange for a lighter sentence.
However, Rajiv Mohan, the government prosecutor, indicated that he was unlikely to accept the offer, confirming that he was seeking the death penalty given the “heinous” crime. Mr Mohan said last week that DNA testing confirmed that the victim’s blood matched stains on the clothes of all five of the accused.
“The five accused persons deserve not less than the death penalty,”he said.
India does have capital punishment but only uses it in the “rarest of rare” cases.
Authorities are still investigating the age of a sixth suspect – a young man who claims to be 17, which allow him to stand trial in juvenile court and face a maximum sentence of three years in custody.
After huge protests triggered by the gang-rape, India set up a special fast-track court to try the suspects to ensure the proceedings did not drag unduly. Many rape cases in India continue for years. The chief justice of India wrote to the chief justices of the country’s states on Monday and urged them to set up fast-track courts for all rape cases.
