New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS)

 The Delhi High Court Friday reserved its verdict on confirming the death sentence and appeals of four convicts in the Dec 16 gang rape and murder case.

A division bench of Justice Reva Khetrapal and Justice Pratibha Rani reserved the order after prosecution and defence counsel concluded their arguments.

The court also asked defence counsel appearing for Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur to file their written submissions by Jan 15.

The high court started hearing the case Nov 1, 2013, on a daily basis.

The prosecution wrapped up its arguments in the first week of November, seeking confirmation of the death penalty.

Special Public Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan earlier told the court that by awarding death penalty to the convicts, a message would be sent out to the society that "deviant behaviour" would not be tolerated.

He also argued that all the convicts had conspired to rob and rape the physiotherapist intern Dec 16 night in 2012.

Defence counsel, however, said their clients were falsely implicated in the case and that the dying declaration by the woman was "fake" and "fabricated".

Counsel also told the court that police did not follow the proper procedure while arresting the four on the basis of media reports, and without having any evidence in hand.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was brutally gang-raped by six men, including a juvenile, in a moving bus in Delhi Dec 16, 2012.

The six then threw the woman and her male companion out of the vehicle, stripped of clothing, to die by the roadside on the cold December night.

The woman died of grave intestinal injuries Dec 29, 2012, at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital, where she was airlifted for specialised treatment.

One of the six accused was found dead in a cell in Delhi's Tihar Jail. A juvenile involved in the crime was sent by the Juvenile Justice Board to a reform home for three years, the maximum term under the juvenile law. 

A trial court Sep 13 awarded death sentence to Mukesh, 26, Akshay Thakur, 28, Pawan Gupta, 19, and Vinay Sharma, 20. The court referred the case to the high court for confirmation of the sentence.

The charge sheet was filed Jan 3 last year.