India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to move the location of the trial of five men accused of gang-raping a young woman on a Delhi bus, despite pleas from an advocate of one of the defendants that press coverage had created a bias. But the petition was denied because it was filed by advocate M.L. Sharma, who the court ruled did not have authority to represent the accused, not because of the validity of the claim. Five men have been charged in the Dec. 16 rape, and they could face the death penalty if convicted. The young woman’s rape and death sparked weeks of protests and worldwide attention on the safety of women in India.
