Archive · 20 Aug 2026
100 Murder Cases Shifted After UP Judge’s 22 Death Sentences
A fast-track court in Muzaffarnagar had about 100 serious murder cases waiting to be decided.
The court was led by Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar.
In four months, his court sentenced 22 people to death in 10 cases.
The cases involved crimes that can receive the death penalty or life in prison.
Officials moved the pending cases to District Judge Virendra Kumar Singh’s court.
The move was made through an administrative order.
A lawyers’ association leader said some lawyers and people involved in the cases were worried about possible death sentences.
He also said that moving cases between courts is a routine administrative process.
The reports do not say that any earlier judgment was changed.
Around 100 pending murder cases were transferred from Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar’s fast-track court in Muzaffarnagar.
The cases, involving offences punishable by death or life imprisonment, were moved to District and Sessions Judge Virendra Kumar Singh’s court.
Diwakar’s court sentenced 22 people to death in 10 cases during the preceding four months.
The death sentences covered cases involving murder, kidnapping for ransom, robbery, rivalry and the killing of a home guard.
District Bar Association president Pramod Tyagi said lawyers and litigants had expressed apprehensions about possible capital punishment, while describing the transfer as a routine administrative exercise.
- Who
- Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, District and Sessions Judge Virendra Kumar Singh, government counsel Kuldeep Kumar, and District Bar Association president Pramod Tyagi.
- What
- Around 100 pending murder cases were transferred from Diwakar’s fast-track court to the district judge’s court.
- When
- The transfer was ordered on Tuesday and reported on Wednesday; Diwakar’s 22 death sentences were issued in the preceding four months.
- Where
- The transfer took place in the district courts of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.
- Why
- The cases were recalled through an administrative order amid reported apprehensions among lawyers and litigants about possible capital punishment; Tyagi also described the transfer as routine.
Administrative Explanation
Lawyers’ Concerns
Reason for the transfer
Administrative Explanation
Officials said the cases were transferred through an administrative order from Diwakar’s fast-track court to District Judge Virendra Kumar Singh’s court.
Lawyers’ Concerns
District Bar Association president Pramod Tyagi said lawyers and litigants had apprehensions that Diwakar’s court might award capital punishment.
Nature of the decision
Administrative Explanation
Tyagi said transferring cases between courts was a routine administrative exercise within the district judge’s jurisdiction.
Lawyers’ Concerns
The transfer followed a period in which Diwakar’s court had sentenced 22 people to death in 10 cases, heightening concerns among some lawyers and litigants.
- Cases transferred
- Around 100 pending murder cases
- Transferring court
- Fast-track court headed by Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar
- Receiving court
- Court of District and Sessions Judge Virendra Kumar Singh
- Death sentences
- 22 people sentenced to death
- Cases resulting in sentences
- 10 cases over four months
- Potential punishments
- Death or life imprisonment
- Administrative action
- The cases were recalled through an order issued on Tuesday
