The Lahore High Court has announced its reserved verdict on the appeals filed by convicted offenders Abid Malhi and Shafqat Baga against their death sentences in the high-profile motorway gang rape case.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi heard the appeals and reserved its judgment after completing proceedings. The court delivered the verdict today.
The Lahore High Court dismissed the appeals of both convicts and upheld the death sentences awarded to them, ruling that the punishments were lawful and justified.
The two-member bench, led by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, maintained the sentences previously handed down by the Anti-Terrorism Court.
The Anti-Terrorism Court had sentenced both convicts to death on March 20, 2021, after finding them guilty of rape. Subsequently, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Baga challenged the verdict before the Lahore High Court on March 25, 2021.
With the latest ruling, the high court has upheld the original convictions and death penalties awarded in one of Pakistan’s most widely publicised criminal cases.
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