NEW DELHI: An Indian judge Thursday ordered reports to determine the age of one of six suspects accused of the gang-rape of a Danish tourist, as the group appeared in court.

Defence lawyers said the defendant claimed that he was a minor, which would mean he could expect a much lighter sentence than his five co-accused if found guilty of the January 14 attack in New Delhi.

Presiding judge Sudhanshu Kaushik ordered the lawyers to provide reports by the next hearing on March 6 at the court in the capital. The suspects were all remanded in custody until then.

The assault on the 51-year-old Dane, who was attacked at knife point after losing her way in central Delhi, was the latest in a series of sex attacks on foreigners in India.

A Polish woman was drugged and raped as she travelled to Delhi with her two-year-old daughter in January, while a US tourist was gang-raped last June in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh.

The issue of women's safety in the capital was also highlighted by the gang-rape of a student on a bus in December 2012 which sparked mass protests.