NEW DELHI: Five men charged with the brutal gang-rape

NEW DELHI: Five men charged with the brutal gang-rape and murder of a young student in New Delhi will appear in court for the first time..

The five, who could face the death penalty if convicted, are also charged with kidnap, robbery and conspiracy over the attack on a bus on December 16 that sparked protests in India and soul-searching about the levels of violence against women.

The defendants have been named as Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh, Vijay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawn Gupta.

A sixth accused, who is 17, is to be tried in a separate court for juveniles.

It normally takes months for the prosecution to assemble such a case, but the legal proceedings are getting underway barely a week after the 23-year-old medical student died of her injuries in a Singapore hospital.

The government, sensitive to criticism that a sluggish justice system often compounds the agony of victims, has pledged to fast-track the case against the defendants who are aged between 17 and 35. They all live in Delhi.

Police have pledged “maximum security” during the hearing at the magistrates’ court amid fears for the defendants’ safety.

A man was arrested last week as he allegedly tried to plant a crude bomb near the home of one of the men.

Legal experts say the court in the Sachet district of the capital would likely transfer the case to a more senior court during Monday’s hearing.

“The court will ask them if they have lawyers and then it will appoint an Amicus Curiae (lawyer) to represent them and supply copies of the charge sheet to the accused,” said Vishwender Verma, a senior advocate at Delhi High Court.

“The case will then be committed to a session’s court as a magistrates’ court cannot try rape and murder cases.”