‘Prefer death to being called coward,’ says judge in 23rd capital punishment verdict in 4 months

A Muzaffarnagar court awarded death penalty to a man convicted of burning his wife over dowry demands. Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar said he would rather face death than be known as a coward, asserting judicial independence despite alleged threats from criminals

Muzaffarnagar: Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, while pronouncing his 23rd capital punishment in the last four months in a dowry death case on Monday, said in his verdict that he would prefer death to being called a “coward judge”.

In his judgment awarding the death penalty to a man who burnt his wife over dowry demands, the fast-track judge asserted that he would not discharge his judicial duties “under pressure from mafias, gangsters or criminals”.

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Diwakar observed that his parents had taught him to fear God and no one else, and that if he performed his judicial duties out of fear of strongmen, mafias, gangsters or criminals, public faith in the judiciary would erode.

In his judgment, Diwakar said he would prefer death to being known as a coward judge and would continue serving as long as he could follow his principles.

The judge also stated that he had been receiving threats from mafias and criminals, and alleged that about 100 serious cases had been withdrawn from his court, allegedly to benefit mafias and criminals.

It is learnt that Diwakar has sought protection from senior officers, alleging that his security cover in Muzaffarnagar has been reduced.

In the case decided on Monday, Diwakar’s court convicted the man, Nadeem, under Sections 302 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh, according to government counsel Kuldeep Kumar.

The case related to Nadeem allegedly setting ablaze his wife Shehzadi (23) in Shahpur town on July 23, 2018, over dowry demands.

Shehzadi was taken to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital in a serious condition, where she later died. In her statement recorded before her death, Shehzadi alleged that Nadeem set her on fire, the government counsel said.

Although all 11 prosecution witnesses turned hostile during the trial, the court convicted Nadeem based on Shehzadi’s dying declaration, he said.

With this judgment, Diwakar’s court has awarded the death penalty to 23 people in 11 cases over the past four months, the government counsel said.

Earlier in August, around 100 murder cases pending before Diwakar were transferred to the court of District and Sessions Judge Virendra Kumar Singh through an administrative order.

The transfer of cases came amid apprehensions among lawyers and litigants over the possibility of the fast-track court awarding capital punishment, District Bar Association president Pramod Tyagi had said.