Lahore HC confirms death sentences of motorway gang rape convicts

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued a detailed judgment upholding the death sentences of two men convicted in the 2020 Lahore-Sialkot Motorway rape case, ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa had dismissed the convicts' appeals through a short order on June 3, 2026. The court released its detailed verdict on Tuesday.

The judgment upheld the death sentences awarded to Abid Ali alias Malhi and Shafqat Ali alias Bagga. The bench also confirmed the sentences through the mandatory capital punishment reference.

The court, however, dismissed the Punjab government's appeal seeking harsher punishment under Section 365-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, leaving intact the life imprisonment awarded to the convicts on that charge.

According to the judgment, the convictions were supported by consistent witness accounts, medical findings and forensic evidence, including DNA analysis, which firmly linked the accused to the crime.

The case was registered by Gujjarpura police after the incident in September 2020, which sparked nationwide outrage.

The prosecution said the victim, a Pakistani-origin French woman, was travelling with her children when her vehicle ran out of fuel on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway during the early hours of September 9, 2020.

It alleged that two armed men broke the car window, forced the woman and her children into nearby bushes, sexually assaulted her and stole cash, jewellery, ATM cards and other valuables before escaping.

An anti-terrorism court convicted both men on March 20, 2021, under various provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, awarding them the death penalty.