New Delhi, Mar 21 (India Today) : The quantum of punishment to the five convicts in the Shakti Mill gangrape cases will be decided by a Mumbai court on Friday. The court had on Thursday convicted five people including two juveniles finding them guilty on 13 charges.

The court convicted the five men for gangrape, criminal conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, assault, destruction of evidence under IPC and other relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.

A total of seven persons including two minors, were arrested in connection with the two gangrapes involving a telephone operator and a photojournalist in July-August 2013.

Three of the accused are common to both the cases.

Principal sessions court judge Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi convicted Vijay Jadhav, 19, Mohammad Qasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Kasim Bengali, 21 and Mohammad Ansari, 28, in both the cases.

while Siraj Khan was found guilty in the photojournalist gangrape case (on August 22) and Mohammad Ashfaque Shaikh, in the telephone operator gangrape case at the same compound on July 31 last year.

Two minors, one in each case, are being tried by the Juvenile Justice Board separately.

Putting forth arguments on the point of sentencing, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court that the maximum punishment provided for gangrape under Indian Penal Code is life imprisonment and sought the maximum punishment for the accused.

"These accused have a criminal tendency," Nikam told the court.

Later, the case was adjourned till tomorrow for the prosecution and defense to advance arguments on the quantum of sentencing.

Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil, who was present in the court welcomed the verdict

"The cases were tried in fastest possible time and victims have got justice....Hope this verdict will act as a deterrent," he told reporters outside the court.