New Delhi:The fate of four convicts in the December 16 bus gangrape case hangs fire as a local fast-track court on Wednesday put off the verdict on quantum of punishment to September 13.

The hearing began in the morning with arguments over the quantum of punishment.  The four convicts- Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta– sought leniency saying life imprisonment is rule, but death punishment is an exception.

Amidst raging, prosecutors sought the death sentence for four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a paramedical student on a bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012, saying their ghastly act had shocked the countrys conscience.

Special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan told the court that they showed no mercy even when she prayed for mercy. There should be no mercy for merciless convicts.

They have been convicted of several offences ranging from rape and murder to abduction and unnatural sex. But it is their conviction under Section 302 of the IPC for murder that can attract capital punishment as demanded by the victims family, section activists, politicians and public.

Judge Yogesh Khanna also dropped a hint while giving verdict on Tuesday when he said, “The act of inserting the rod and pulling out her internal organ after the gang-rape cannot be seen as only to facilitate the gangrape… rather it make the act of pulling out the internal organ of the victim to kill her an intentional act.”

Generally, courts award life imprisonment to accused convicted of murder. However, in “rarest of rare” cases such as this one, convicts are given death penalty.