Additional Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar has claimed that the recent transfer of about 100 criminal cases from his court, effected by an administrative order of the Muzaffarnagar District and Sessions Judge, was intended to protect the mafia, gangsters and criminals.

Judge Diwakar has been in the news for sentencing 23 people to death in 11 cases in the last 5 months. As a result, at least 97 murder cases were transferred out of his court last month.

The judge has now commented that he was deeply hurt and distressed by such actions, without referring directly to the transfer order. In a judgment written in Hindi, Diwakar said that though he knows why this was done, it would not be appropriate to reveal the information given the decorum of his post.

"Mujhe nahi pata ki mere sath aisa vyavahar karne wale log Bhagwan mein vishwas rakhte hain ya nahi, lekin jab ve mere sath kiye gaye vyavahar ke baare mein apni antaratma mein dekhenge, toh ve khud ko kabhi maaf nahi kar payenge. Ek vyakti duniya ko dhokha de sakta hai, lekin apni antaratma ko nahi. Aise vyavahar ka uddeshya mafia/gangster/apradhiyon ko samrakshan dena tha. Mujhe is baat ki poori jankari hai ki aisa kyun hua, lekin apne pad ki maryada ko dekhte huye abhi mera bolna uchit nahi hoga," the judge said in a ruling delivered on Monday.

Translation: I do not know whether the people who treated me this way believe in God or not, but when they look into their conscience regarding their treatment of me, they will never be able to forgive themselves. A person can fool the world, but not their own conscience. Such behavior was intended to protect mafias/gangsters/criminals. I possess complete information as to why this transpired, but it would be inappropriate to speak out now given the decorum of my post.

The judge added that he received a threat of transfer after the cases were transferred from his court, adding that certain criminals in Western Uttar Pradesh enjoy caste patronage as well as political backing. However, the judge asserted that he was taught to be fearful of only God and no one else.

"Yadi main mafia/dabang/apradhiyon jaisi shaktiyon se darne lagoon, toh mere liye is pavitra nyayik sansthan se istifa dena hi uchit hoga. Main ek kayar nyayadhish kahlaane ki bajaye marna pasand karoonga. Main tab tak seva karoonga jab tak apne siddhanton par kayam rah sakta hoon; anyatha, main istifa de doonga. Jab tak main nyayadhish ki kursi par baitha hoon, faisla/nyay karne ka adhikar keval mere paas hai," he added.

Translation: If I were to fear powers such as mafias/strongmen/criminals, it would be appropriate for me to resign from this sacred judicial institution. I would rather die than be called a cowardly judge. I will serve as long as I can adhere to my principles; otherwise, I shall resign. As long as I occupy the judge's chair, the authority to decide/adjudicate rests solely with me.

The judge made these comments while handing down yet another death sentence to an accused in a murder case. The convict Nadeem had poured kerosene on his wife and burnt her to death in 2018.

"Killing a woman by burning brings forth a form of crime wherein the victim is not only deprived of life but is forced to endure extreme physical pain, terror, and helplessness. The use of fire is not merely a medium of death, but a cause of torture whose severity is difficult to measure in ordinary words," the Court said.

The Court said that the death penalty must be awarded in such cases as such punishment instills fear in criminals and those who lack the respect for the law.

While parting with the judgment, the Court urged the State to ensure that if case records of serious cases are transferred from one court to another without any cause to benefit criminals/strongmen/accused, the District Government Counsel (Criminal) should be granted an opportunity to present their case in line with principles of natural justice to prevent criminals from forum shopping in the future.

It also commented about the history of crime in Muzaffarnagar. It agreed with the government counsel's submission that strict measures like encounters, property attachments and preventive detentions have helped curb crime in the district.

"The reason why Muzaffarnagar was called the Crime Capital was that several active criminal gangs of Western Uttar Pradesh exercised influence in the district at that time. Since it is a sugarcane belt, violent conflicts relating to economic interests, contracts and land disputes also frequently took place there. At that time, there was also discussion regarding the nexus between political patronage and crime," the judge said.