Who Is Ravi Kumar Diwakar? UP Court Transfers 100 Murder Cases After He Hands Down 22 Death Sentences In 4 Months

Muzaffarnagar: Around 100 murder cases pending before fast-track court judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar have been transferred to another judge after he sentenced 22 convicts to death in the past four months.

The cases, involving offences carrying the death penalty or life imprisonment, were transferred from Diwakar’s fast-track court to the court of District and Sessions Judge Virendra Kumar Singh, government counsel Kuldeep Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

District Bar Association president Pramod Tyagi said lawyers and litigants had expressed concerns over the possibility of the court awarding death sentences.

Who is Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar

Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar was born in July 1980 and holds BCom and LLM degrees. He was appointed as a civil judge in 2009 and has served in several Uttar Pradesh districts, including Sultanpur, Budaun, Varanasi and Bareilly. He has been serving as the additional district and sessions judge in Muzaffarnagar since November 2025.

Gyanvapi survey brought spotlight

Diwakar came into the spotlight in 2022 after ordering a videography survey of the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi. He is known for delivering stringent judgments.

Remarks on Yogi Adityanath

Earlier, in March 2024, Diwakar referred to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as an example of Plato’s “philosopher king” in an order related to the 2010 Bareilly riots. The Allahabad High Court later expunged the remarks.