Who Is the UP Judge Behind 22 Death Sentences in 4 Months? 100 Murder Cases Now Shifted From His Court

UP News: In an unusual move, around 100 murder cases pending before an Additional District and Sessions Judge in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, were transferred to another Court of the District and Sessions Judge through an administrative order. Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravikumar Diwakar had delivered 22 death sentences in 10 cases in the last four months, raising eyebrows. 

100 Murder Cases Sent To District Court From Fast-Track Court

The tranfer of the murder cases is being seen as the fallout of the capital punishments pronounced by judge Diwakar. Government counsel Kuldeep Kumar said the cases, involving offences punishable with death or life imprisonment, were transferred from the fast-track court headed by Diwakar to the court of District and Sessions Judge Virendra Kumar Singh.

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There were apprehensions among the lawyers and litigants over the possibility of the court awarding capital punishment, District Bar Association president Pramod Tyagi said, adding that through an administrative order issued on Tuesday, the district judge decided to recall the cases to his own court.

Who Is Judge Ravikumar Diwakar?

Judge Ravikumar Diwakar, a resident of Lucknow, was appointed as an additional civil judge in Azamgarh in 2009. Later, the 46-year-old was then elevated as a civil judge in Sultanpur in 2015 and after a few months he became a judicial magistrate. Earlier, judge Diwakar created headlines after pronouncing the order to conduct a videography survey of Varanasi's Gyanvapi complex in 2022. He holds a BCom and an LLM degrees. He took charge as the additional district and sessions judge in Muzaffarnagar in November 2025.

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Judge Ravikumar Diwakar Awards Death Penalty To Man For Killing Trader

Earlier this month on August 12, judge Diwakar awarded the death penalty to a man for abducting and killing a wood trader for ransom nearly 27 years ago. He also imposed a fine of Rs 1.10 lakh on Shahnawaz, the convict, after holding him guilty for the abduction and murder of Saleem in 1999.

(With PTI inputs)