- Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar sentenced 22 people to death in 10 cases over four months in Muzaffarnagar
- He delivered death penalties in cases involving murder, kidnapping, and robbery dating from 1999 to 2019
- Notable verdicts include a 12-year-old murder case and the killing of a home guard on duty in 2020
A judge of a fast-track court in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar has made headlines by delivering verdicts in 10 cases in the last four months, sentencing 22 individuals to death.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who was earlier in the news for passing the order to conduct a videography survey of Varanasi's Gyanvapi complex in 2022, is known for his strong verdicts.
A resident of Lucknow, the 46-year-old started as an additional civil judge in Azamgarh in 2009. He was then elevated as a civil judge in Sultanpur in May 2015 and as a judicial magistrate about five months later.
Judge Diwakar, who has a BCom and an LLM degree, has been serving as the additional district and sessions judge in Muzaffarnagar since November 2025.
His recent judgments
Sentenced 4 to death in 12-year-old murder case
On August 13, he sentenced four people to death in a 12-year-old murder case. He also imposed a fine of Rs 1.70 lakh on the convicts -- Ramvir, Rajiv, Rahul and Harender Kumar -- after holding them guilty for the murder of Pawan Kumar. The accused had entered Kumar's house and opened fire during an attack allegedly stemming from old rivalry in Shamli district on July 14, 2014.
Kumar was killed in the firing, while his brother, Ashok Kumar, sustained bullet injuries.
Death penalty to man for killing wood trader for ransom in 1999
On August 12, he awarded the death penalty to a man for kidnapping and killing a wood trader for ransom nearly 27 years ago.
He held Shahnawaz, the convict, guilty for murdering Saleem in 1999. Saleem was kidnapped for a ransom of Rs 5 lakh and later killed by slitting his throat in a jungle in Chapar on December 9, 1999.
Sentenced 4 to death in 2011 farmer murder case
On July 17, he sentenced four men to death for the murder of a farmer in 2011 during an attempted robbery in the Shamli district.
The farmer, Raj Singh, was travelling on a motorcycle with his friend, Bijendra, to his sister's house on August 20, 2011, when they were intercepted by unidentified assailants. The accused attempted to rob them. Raj Singh was shot dead after he resisted, while Bijendra was tied up and thrown into a nearby sugarcane field.
Sentenced ex-village head, his associate to death in murder case
On July 6, he sentenced a former village head and his associate to death in a 2010 murder case. He observed that the case fell in the rarest of rare cases.
Rajbir Singh, 60, was shot dead over panchayat elections' enmity on August 24, 2010. The former village head, Pramod, and his associate, Sahdev, were later arrested for the murder.
Death penalty for killing home guard on duty
On July 2, Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar convicted a man of murdering a home guard on duty and awarded him the death sentence, holding that the case fell in the "rarest of rare" category.
He observed that the murder was committed in circumstances warranting the maximum punishment. The incident took place on June 4, 2020, when the home guard, Ratiram, was on duty. He intervened to rescue the accused's mother after he allegedly assaulted her.
Enraged, the accused, Deepak, stabbed Ratiram to death.
2 sentenced to death in murder case
On June 20, he sentenced two persons -- Gajendra and Ramkiran -- to death in connection with the murder of Rajendra Saini.
He had observed that the case fell into the rarest of rare cases.
50-year-old man gets death penalty in 15-year-old double-murder case
On May 30, his fast-track court awarded death penalty to a 50-year-old man for killing a woman and her six-year-old son in a case dating back nearly 15 years.
He observed that the case fell in the "rarest of rare" category, warranting capital punishment.
The victims, Rajesh Devi (30) and her son Himanshu, were murdered in the Mazaffarnagar district on November 7, 2011. According to the prosecution, Rahis took Rajesh Devi and the child to a nearby sugarcane field and killed them by repeatedly hitting them with bricks after an argument. Their bodies were found on November 13.
Death sentence to woman, her 3 sons in 2019 murder case
On April 28, Judge Diwakar sentenced a woman and her three sons to death in a 2019 murder case.
Sentenced 3 to death in 2019 murder case
On April 6, the Muzaffarnagar fast-track court awarded a death sentence to three persons in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a lawyer in 2019.
According to the prosecution, the victim, lawyer Mohammad Sameer, was kidnapped and later killed over a monetary dispute of Rs 45 lakh on October 15, 2019.
During the investigation, police found that the accused had disposed of the body at another location with the help of one of the accused. The body was later recovered from a forest area in Sikri village.
(With PTI inputs)
