NEW DELHI: India's Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for a juvenile court to hand down its verdict on a teenager charged over the fatal gang-rape of a student last December.

The juvenile court has delayed giving its verdict four times on the teenager, one of six originally accused of the deadly assault which shocked India and sparked weeks of protests, because of a legal challenge.

But the Supreme Court said Thursday that the court should go ahead, regardless of its hearing on a petition for a review of the juvenile law.

“The juvenile board can go ahead with its proceedings and pass orders accordingly,” Chief Justice P Sathasivam said.

Politician Subramanian Swamy, an opposition leader, has filed the petition in the Supreme Court arguing that suspects aged over 16 who are accused of serious offences should be tried in adult courts.

The teenager was 17 at the time of the crime, which saw the 23-year-old victim die of internal injuries inflicted during the savage attack on a moving bus on December 16.

The juvenile court is now expected to hand down its verdict at its next hearing on August 31.

The attack generated widespread anger about endemic sex crime in India. Public outrage and protests pushed parliament to pass a new law toughening sentences for rapists, while a round of public soul-searching sought to explain the rising tide of violence against women.

The Delhi gang rape case, as it has now come to be known, sparked outraged protests throughout India. From common students to political party leaders, anti-rape protests were rampant through out India, with many demanding the death penalty for the rapists.

Even high profile celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan had weighed in by calling on his Facebook page for “every Indian (to) become a vigilante, a soldier, a commander” to “fight such heinous crimes with strength and conviction”.

The trial of the adult suspects - one of whom died in jail from a suspected suicide in March - continues in a separate court which has started hearing final arguments.

Swamy said he was “completely satisfied” with the judgment of the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear his petition into a review of the juvenile law in general, but not specifically on the juvenile's case.

The juvenile, a runaway who reportedly left home aged 11, can be sent to a correctional facility for a maximum three-year term if found guilty. The term will take into account the time he has already spent in custody.

The teenager, the youngest of six children according to his mother, was employed to clean the bus allegedly used for the attack and often slept rough or inside the vehicle, reports say.

He has previously denied any involvement in the crime.

Reports of horrifying sexual assaults are still a daily feature of Indian newspapers and the number of recorded crimes against women has rocketed since the December 16 incident.

One of the main consequences of the case, say campaigners, has been that women feel more emboldened to report crimes against them, while criticism of the police has made officers more sensitive when dealing with such cases.

The four remaining adults could face the death penalty if convicted.