The Supreme Court reserved its verdict after hearing the case for over two-and-a-half months, during which both the prosecution and the defense counsel argued over the punishment given to Kasab, currently lodged in Mumbai's high-profile Arthur Road prison, for his role in the terror attacks which claimed the lives of over 170 people.

During the argument, 25-year-old Kasab's lawyer contended that he was not given a free and fair trial and dismissed charges that he was part of a larger conspiracy for waging war against the nation.

Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam and Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had earlier told the bench that the Mumbai massacre was carried out with a "calculated" design, aimed at causing communal tension in the country by projecting that it was the handiwork of Indian Muslims.

The apex court had stayed Kasab's death sentence on October 10 last year.

In May 2010, a special Indian court had convicted Kasab, the only surviving attacker, of murder, waging war on India, possessing explosives and other charges, and subsequently sentenced him to death on four counts and to a life sentence on five other counts for carrying out a mayhem in India's financial capital along with nine others. The death sentence was upheld by the High Court in Mumbai in February 2011.