LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has upheld the death sentences awarded to two convicts, Abid Ali and Shafqat alias Bagga, in the widely reported motorway gang rape case, dismissing the appeals filed by the convicts against their conviction.
The court dismissed a separate appeal filed by the State seeking to enhance the life sentence awarded to the convicts under the abduction charge to a death sentence, holding that the trial court had appropriately exercised its discretion in that respect and that no exceptional circumstances existed to justify enhancement.
A division bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa issued the written judgment, rejecting the appeals of both convicts as well as a separate appeal filed by the State seeking enhancement of one of the sentences from life imprisonment to death.
The case pertained to an incident in September 2020 in which a woman traveling on the motorway with her three children was stranded after her vehicle ran out of fuel.
According to the prosecution, two armed men approached the vehicle, smashed its window, and forcibly dragged the woman and her children into a nearby jungle, where she was subjected to gang rape while her children were threatened at gunpoint.
The trial court had earlier convicted both accused under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, sentencing them to death for rape along with life imprisonment and other punishments for related offences including abduction and robbery.
In its detailed judgment, the High Court held that the victim’s testimony was confidence-inspiring, consistent, and corroborated by independent evidence, making it sufficient on its own to sustain a conviction in cases of sexual assault. The bench observed that the traumatic nature of the crime would naturally leave a lasting impression on the victim’s memory, dismissing defence arguments regarding minor inconsistencies or delay as inconsequential.
The court placed significant weight on scientific and forensic evidence, noting that DNA profiling had conclusively linked both convicts to the crime.
Blood samples recovered from the victim’s vehicle matched the DNA profile of Abid Ali, which was already on record with the Punjab Forensic Science Agency from an earlier case, while sperm fractions recovered from the victim’s clothing and vaginal swabs matched the DNA profiles of both accused.
The judgment noted that this forensic trail, combined with call data records, medical examination reports, and a properly conducted identification parade in which the victim correctly identified both men, formed an unbroken and credible chain of evidence against the convicts.
Addressing the question of sentencing, the bench described the crime as brutal, inhuman, and one that had generated fear and insecurity within society, particularly undermining public confidence in the safety of women traveling on highways and motorways.
The court ruled that the gravity and far-reaching consequences of the offence warranted no leniency, and that the convicts did not deserve any concession in sentencing. Consequently, the appeals filed by Abid Ali and Shafqat alias Bagga were dismissed, and the Capital Sentence Reference was answered in the affirmative, confirming the death penalty.
