Lawyers for four men sentenced to death for raping and murdering a young woman on a New Delhi bus challenged the verdicts at a High Court hearing on Tuesday.
The brutal attack in December sparked public debate and fury over chronic sexual violence faced by women in India.
“I am challenging this verdict,” said AP Singh, who has defended all four men at various times.
All death penalty cases in India must be confirmed by a higher court. As part of the proceedings for that, the High Court said on Wednesday it would begin hearing prosecution arguments supporting the guilty verdicts and death penalties issued earlier this month, while the defence lawyers file their appeals.
“We have to deal with this as expeditiously as possible because the sword of death is hanging over them,” Judge Pratibha Rani said.
It could take weeks or months for the court to hear arguments, review evidence and consider the appeals before deciding whether to confirm the execution orders.