Muzaffarnagar Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar has issued his 23rd capital punishment in just four months. In a bold declaration, he stated he would “rather die than be called a coward judge.” This statement underscores his commitment to delivering strict justice in a region where capital punishment remains a contentious issue. The frequency of such sentences raises questions about the judicial approach to severe crimes in Uttar Pradesh.
In his latest judgment, awarding the death penalty to a man who burnt his wife over dowry demands, the fast-track judge asserted that he would not discharge his judicial duties “under pressure from mafias, gangsters or criminals”.
However, cases involving the death penalty are subject to further judicial processes and the right to appeal. In the case decided on Monday, Diwakar’s court convicted the man, Nadeem, under Sections 302 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh, according to government counsel Kuldeep Kumar. the court convicted Nadeem based on Shehzadi’s dying declaration, he said Although all 11 prosecution witnesses turned hostile during the trial. With this judgment, Diwakar’s court has awarded the death penalty to 23 people in 11 cases over the past four months, the government counsel said.
Describing the killing as “extremely brutal and barbaric”, the court held that the offence fell within the “rarest of rare” category, warranting capital punishment.
