New Delhi - A court in India's Mumbai city Saturday ruled that Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone suspect captured during the November terrorist attacks on the metropolis, was not a juvenile and therefore could face the death penalty, media reports said.

The court ruling was based on the report of an expert medical panel that provided bone ossification and dental test reports which indicated he was above 20 years of age, the NDTV network reported.

Apart from the medical evidence presented before it to determine the suspect's age, the court also accepted the jail superintendent and doctor's testimony, who mentioned that Kasab had informed them that his age was 21 years, the PTI news agency said in its report.

"I am made to believe by the witnesses examined that the accused was 21 years at the time of the attack and his date of birth is September 13, as mentioned by him to the jailer (of the Arthur Road jail) and the doctor who examined him," Special Judge ML Tahilyani was quoted as saying in his order.

Kasab, the lone captured member of the 10-member terrorist squad which attacked Mumbai last year, had moved a petition before the court that he was under 18 years of age and should be tried in a court meant for juveniles. Judge Tahilyani had ordered an inquiry to determine his age following the plea in this connection.

If Kasab was found to be a minor, he would not have been tried by the special court under Indian law. His sentence would have also been limited to three years in jail.

The trial against Kasab - the main accused in the November 26-29 Mumbai attacks, in which more than 170 people were killed - began April 15 in the heavily guarded Arthur Road jail premises in Mumbai.

Kasab, accused of being a member of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e- Taiba terrorist organization, is being tried along with two Indian suspects in the case. (dpa)