NEW DELHI, July 9: India's Supreme Court has rejected a petition seeking to overturn the death sentences of four men convicted of the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student in Delhi.

Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh had challenged the court's 2017 ruling upholding their death penalty.

The brutal gang rape led to nationwide outrage and new anti-rape laws.

They have exhausted all their legal options but can still file a mercy petition before India's president.

Akshay Singh, the fourth convict, had not challenged his death sentence, but this ruling will also apply to him.The 23-year-old physiotherapy student was attacked on a bus that she had boarded with her male friend as they returned home from watching a film in December 2012. Her friend was also beaten up.

She died of her severe injuries in a hospital 13 days later.

The victim's mother told media that the Supreme Court ruling was "justice for all".

"I have been struggling for six years, and today I am satisfied that justice has been delivered. The latest ruling has strengthened my belief in our justice system," she said.

Six were arrested over the attack. One suspect, Ram Singh, was found dead in jail in March 2013, having apparently taken his own life.

Another, who was aged 17 at the time, was released in 2015 after serving three years in a reform facility - the maximum term possible for a juvenile in India.

 
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