MUZAFFARNAGAR: Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who made national headlines for awarding 23 death sentences in 11 cases between April and Sept this year in Muzaffarnagar and 13 in Bareilly, has been transferred from fast track court to family court, according to a judicial transfer order. He will now take charge as additional principal judge of the family court in Muzaffarnagar.TOI had on Aug 17 reported about Judge Diwakar’s string of death sentences. The jurist was transferred to Muzaffarnagar on Nov 29, 2025. As a presiding officer of fast track court-3, he heard criminal cases involving Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts. On Sept 7, he pronounced his 23rd death sentence in Muzaffarnagar court, convicting a man for burning his wife alive.His tenure drew attention when at least 97 pending case files involving murder and other serious offences were recalled from his court in Aug on the orders of the then-district and sessions judge Birendra Kumar Singh. Singh has since retired.Diwakar subsequently questioned the basis for recalling the cases. In a NDPS case judgment, he touched upon the matter, observing that it was not merely whether such files could be taken back on administrative grounds, but also the “reasons behind exercising that power”. Further, he questioned the “absence of recorded reasons”.In May 2022, as a civil judge (senior division) in Varanasi, Diwakar ordered a court-monitored videographic survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in a case concerning the worship rights of five Hindu women at the Shringar Gauri site.During the survey, a structure in the ‘wuzu khana’ area was claimed by Hindu petitioners to be a Shivling, a claim disputed by the Muslim side. The Supreme Court subsequently transferred the proceedings to the Varanasi district judge’s court.Following the order, Diwakar reported receiving threats, prompting authorities to review his security. In 2024, he again raised “threat” concerns from “international phone numbers”.More recently, during his Muzaffarnagar posting, the judge questioned changes to his security arrangements. In a communication to UP DGP, he stated that the removal of his assigned gunner had “compromised his protection”. Police, however, maintained that alternative personnel had been deployed. Diwakar, 46, joined the Uttar Pradesh judicial service as a Munsif/civil judge (junior division) in 2009. He holds B.Com, LL.B and LL.M degrees. His earlier postings included Azamgarh, Sultanpur, Budaun and Varanasi. He served as civil judge (senior division) in Varanasi from April 2021 to July 2022, before moving to Bareilly, where he later became an additional district and sessions judge (fast track court). He was posted in Chitrakoot from April to Nov 2025 and joined Muzaffarnagar in Nov 2025, as per official records.According to the latest judicial order, Shiv Kumari, the presiding officer of fast track court-2 and additional sessions judge, has now been moved to fast track court-3.
