The 2024 crime sparked nationwide protests over inadequate safety for women and led to a speedy trial in the country's slow-moving justice system.
Sanjay Roy, 33, who has consistently maintained his innocence, can appeal the judgment in a higher court.
The killing of the 31-year-old physician while she was on duty at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata highlighted the chronic issue of violence against women in the country.
Police discovered the woman's bloodied body at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's seminar hall in August. An autopsy found she had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
After the assault, doctors and medical students across India held protests and rallies demanding better security. Thousands of women also protested in the streets demanding swift justice for the victim.
Roy was arrested a day after the crime, and arguments in the case began in November. The assault prompted India's Supreme Court to set up a national task force to suggest ways to enhance safety in government hospitals.
In 2012, the gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus galvanised massive protests across India.
It inspired lawmakers to order harsher penalties for such crimes, as well as the creation of fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases.
The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders. Four men sentenced to death for the 2012 crime were hanged in 2020.
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