In four months, UP judge hands down 22 death sentences in 10 cases: Who is Ravi Kumar Diwakar?

UP judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar has sentenced 22 people to death in 10 cases over four months in Muzaffarnagar. The verdicts include murder, kidnapping and robbery cases. Diwakar earlier drew national attention for ordering the 2022 Gyanvapi survey.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar of a fast-track court in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar has sentenced 22 people to death in 10 cases over the past four months, according to PTI.

The death sentences were handed down between April 6 and August 13, 2026. The cases involved offences including the kidnapping and murder of a lawyer, murder of a home guard on duty, highway robbery and murder, and other murder cases.

Diwakar first gained national attention in 2022 when, while serving as a civil judge in Varanasi, he ordered a court-monitored videographic survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

A series of death sentences

The first of the recent death sentences in Muzaffarnagar was delivered on April 6, when three people were sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of lawyer Mohammad Sameer in 2019. According to the prosecution, Sameer was kidnapped and killed over a monetary dispute involving ₹45 lakh.

On April 28, Diwakar sentenced a woman and her three sons to death in a 2019 murder case.

A 50-year-old man was sentenced to death on May 30 for the murder of a woman and her six-year-old son in a case dating back nearly 15 years. The court held that the case fell within the "rarest of rare" category.

On June 20, two people were sentenced to death for the murder of Rajendra Saini.

The court handed down another death sentence on July 2 to a man convicted of murdering a home guard, Ratiram, while he was on duty in 2020. Diwakar held that the case warranted the maximum punishment and fell in the "rarest of rare" category.

On July 6, a former village head and his associate were sentenced to death for the 2010 murder of Rajbir Singh, which the court also considered a "rarest of rare" case.

On July 17, four men were sentenced to death for the murder of a farmer during an attempted robbery in Shamli district in 2011.

On August 12, Diwakar sentenced Shahnawaz to death for abducting and murdering wood trader Saleem for ransom in 1999. The convict was also fined ₹1.10 lakh.

A day later, four people -- Ramvir, Rajiv, Rahul and Harender Kumar -- were sentenced to death in a 2014 murder case. They were also fined ₹1.70 lakh. The four were convicted of entering Pawan Kumar's house in Bhabhisa village in Shamli district and opening fire over an old rivalry. Pawan was killed and his brother Ashok Kumar was injured.

Diwakar's earlier death sentences

The 22 death sentences handed down in Muzaffarnagar add to 13 capital punishment verdicts delivered by Diwakar during his earlier posting in Bareilly, taking the total number of people sentenced to death by him to 35, according to the TOI report.

During his Bareilly tenure, eight members of the Chaimar Hassen gang were sentenced to death in a 2014 triple-murder and dacoity case.

The pace and number of capital punishment verdicts have also raised questions over the application of the "rarest of rare" doctrine. A lawyer quoted by TOI said death sentences should be awarded only after "much deliberation" and with the principle in mind.

At the same time, prison rights activist Nadir Rana told TOI that the verdicts had given victims' families "a sense of justice" and strengthened their faith in the judiciary.

Under Section 407(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), every death sentence passed by a sessions court must be sent to the high court for confirmation and cannot be carried out unless it is ratified by the high court.

Why Ravi Kumar Diwakar became known nationally

Diwakar's name entered the national spotlight in May 2022 when, as civil judge (senior division) in Varanasi, he ordered a videographic survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in a case filed by five Hindu women seeking worship rights at the Shringar Gauri site.

Diwakar later served in Bareilly and Chitrakoot before joining Muzaffarnagar on November 29, 2025.

About the Author

Prabhakar Jha is a journalist and digital news editor with nearly a decade of experience in online media, specialising in breaking news, politics, national affairs. Having built his career across fast-paced digital newsrooms, he has developed a reputation for delivering accurate, timely, and reader-friendly stories while leading editorial teams during high-pressure news cycles. In 2026, he joined LiveMint as a Digital Content Producer. <br><br> A postgraduate in History from the University of Delhi, Prabhakar combines strong editorial judgment with a keen interest in public policy, governance, economics, and global affairs. Before joining LiveMint, he worked with leading digital publications, including News9Live and The Times of India, where he handled breaking news, copy editing, headline writing, live coverage, and newsroom coordination. <br><br> Beyond the newsroom, Prabhakar is passionate about long-form writing and storytelling. He has a particular interest in global affairs. An avid reader with a love for literary fiction, he also enjoys blogging, poetry, and working on creative writing projects.

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