Feelings though are running high in a country disgusted by daily reports of gang rapes and sex assaults on children.
A total of 1,098 cases of rape have been reported to police in Delhi alone so far this year, according to figures in The Times of India on Friday.
That represents a massive increase on the 450 recorded in the same period last year, although campaigners say the rise is reflective of a greater willingness by victims to come forward after the December 16 attack.
Since the convictions, newspapers have printed graphic details of the onslaught against the student, including of the internal injuries she suffered while being violated with a rusty iron bar before being thrown naked off the bus.
Her injuries were so severe that she died nearly a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. She briefly regained consciousness, telling family and friends of her desire to see her attackers burn to death.
Lawyers for the men have already said they will appeal the convictions in the Delhi High Court, which will spell years of argument and delays in India’s notoriously slow legal system.
In appeal, the defence is likely to advocate lesser sentences for some of the gang, and argue it was a “spur of the moment” crime and not premeditated.
There was widespread anger after a juvenile who was convicted last month for his role in the bus attack was sentenced to just three years in a correctional facility the maximum allowed by law.
The gang all lived in and around Ram Dass Camp, an unauthorised slum in southern Delhi where former neighbours have called for their execution.
“They deserve the harshest punishment Reform is out of the question,” said Maur Singh, a one time neighbour who promised to hand out sweets in celebration if the judge sends the gang to the gallows.
Rattled by the mass protests, the government rushed through new anti rape laws and ordered the trial be held in a special fast track court.
The home minister, Sushilkumar Shinde, has been quoted as saying the new laws “will ensure capital punishment for such a heinous crime” comments that defence lawyers say undermine judicial independence.
Senior opposition politicians have joined in the clamour while activists have protested outside the court, wearing hooded masks and mock nooses.
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