97 case files recalled from UP judge who gave 22 death orders in 4 months

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A total of 97 pending files involving murder and other heinous offences have been recalled from the court of additional district and sessions judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, days after it emerged that he had awarded death sentences to 22 convicts in 10 cases over four months.The files were returned on the orders of the district and sessions judge Birendra Kumar Singh. “Yes, the files were returned from judge Diwakar’s court following the sessions judge’s order,” a senior official confirmed. The move came days after TOI’s report on Diwakar’s record of capital punishment verdicts in Muzaffarnagar.In the order released on Tuesday, the district and sessions judge’s court stated, “The case files currently pending in the court of the additional district and sessions judge/FTC, Court No. 3, Muzaffarnagar are hereby recalled to the court of the district and sessions judge, Muzaffarnagar, for disposal in accordance with the law.”With the 22 death sentences awarded in Muzaffarnagar, the total number of capital punishment verdicts delivered by Diwakar during his judicial career stands at 35, including 13 during his posting in Bareilly. None of the death sentences, however, can be carried out unless confirmed by the high court.Diwakar first came into national spotlight in 2022 when, as a civil judge in Varanasi, he ordered a videographic survey of Gyanvapi mosque complex. The survey included the wuzukhana area, where Hindu petitioners claimed a structure was a Shivling, a claim disputed by the Muslim side. The area was subsequently sealed, and Supreme Court later transferred the proceedings to Varanasi district judge.Diwakar, 46, joined Uttar Pradesh judicial service as munsif/civil judge, junior division, on Dec 17. 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 additional district and sessions judge, fast track court. He was posted in Chitrakoot from April to Nov 2025 and joined Muzaffarnagar on Nov 29, 2025.The first set of death sentences in Muzaffarnagar came on April 6, when three convicts in the murder of advocate Sameer Saifi were awarded capital punishment. On April 28, four members of a family — a woman and her three sons — were sentenced to death in another murder case. One convict received death penalty on May 30, followed by two on June 20. In July, one convict was sentenced to death on July 2, two on July 6 and four more on July 17. In Aug, one convict was awarded capital punishment on Aug 12 and four more on Aug 13.