The Juvenile Justice Board on Saturday convicted the lone juvenile in the 16 December Delhi gangrape case, finding him guilty on charges of rape and murder. He was sentenced to three years in a juvenile corrective home.

The board was presided over by Principal Magistrate Geetanjali Goel. The convicted youth was 17 at the time of the crime and has turned 18 since.

The incident occurred in a private transport bus in Munirka in South Delhi after the 23-year-old female physiotherapy student boarded the bus with a male companion after watching a movie.

The Supreme Court on 22 August had allowed the board to go ahead with pronouncing its verdict after accepting Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy’s plea for a fresh interpretation of the term juvenile.

Swamy had moved the apex court saying that the “mental and intellectual maturity” of minor offenders be considered instead of the age limit of 18 years while fixing their culpability.

The victim had succumbed to injuries on 29 December at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been airlifted for specialised treatment.

The incident sparked protests across the country with some people demanding the execution of the accused and some calling for chemical castration.

A native of Uttar Pradesh, the minor had moved to Delhi at the age of 11 and was arrested after the incident from Anand Vihar in east Delhi.

Six people, including the juvenile, were arrested in the case. While accused Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur were tried by a fast track court in Saket in south Delhi, the juvenile’s case was heard by the board.

The case against Ram Singh was dropped after he was found dead, hanging in his cell in Tihar Jail, Delhi.

With IANS inputs