LUCKNOW: Muzaffarnagar additional district and sessions judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who Monday handed the death penalty to a man for burning his wife alive, made disclosures about receiving death threats from gangsters in his sentencing order.The judge also referred to withdrawal of case files from his court, alleging that it was done to “save mafias and criminals”.He declared that he would not be cowed by pressure or threats. “I would rather die than be called a cowardly judge,” he recorded in his order.A total of 97 pending files involving murder and other serious cases were recalled from Diwakar’s court after it emerged in Aug that he had awarded the death sentence to 22 convicts in 10 cases over four months.An unfazed Diwakar delivered the 23rd capital punishment to Nadeem for the murder of his 23-year-old wife Shahzadi in 2018.However, in his 38-page order, he said a gangster had sent him a threatening message through an intermediary after the case files were recalled from his court.According to the judge, the message conveyed to him was: “So far, only files have been removed. If you come after us or make any comment, we will use our influence to get the court changed or get you transferred out of the district.”He alleged that some powerful gangsters in western UP enjoyed caste and political patronage and had networks extending to “higher levels”. Diwakar recorded that if he began fearing “mafia, strongmen or criminals”, it would be more appropriate for him to resign from the judicial institution.The comments acquire significance in view of Diwakar’s judicial background. Serving as Varanasi civil judge in 2022, he had ordered a videographic survey of the Gyanvapi premises.In Monday’s order, he mentioned the Gyanvapi case and said he and his family had received several death threats after that. Diwakar said in his order that despite the threats, his security had been reduced.The judge had recently written to the Uttar Pradesh DGP objecting to the sudden replacement of two police personnel assigned for his security.
