Court lifts gag order on India gang rape trial

The mother of Ram Singh, the man accused of driving the bus on which a 23-year-old student was gang raped in December 2012, cries as she speaks to journalists outside the family’s home in New Delhi, India, Monday, March 11, 2013. Indian police confirmed that Ram Singh, one of the men on trial for his alleged involvement in the gang rape and fatal beating of a woman aboard a New Delhi bus committed suicide in an Indian jail Monday, but his lawyer and family allege he was killed. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

NEW DELHI—A defense lawyer says an Indian court has ruled that the media should be allowed to cover the trial of four men accused in the gang rape and fatal beating of a woman on a New Delhi bus in December.

Journalists had been barred by a court order from covering the trial, which is already underway.

Defense lawyer V.K. Anand said the Delhi High Court lifted that gag order Friday and decided to allow media coverage of the proceedings.

The rape had sparked protests across India demanding stronger protection for women. The interest in the trial was intense.

A fifth suspect in the case was found dead in his jail cell earlier this month. The sixth suspect is being tried as a juvenile.