The move came after Diwakar's court handed down 22 death sentences to 22 convicts in 10 cases over the past four months.
Through an administrative order issued on Tuesday, the district judge decided to recall the cases to his own court, he said.
Diwakar's court awarded three death sentences in the murder of lawyer Sameer Saifi on April 6, followed by four in another murder case on April 28.
Five more death sentences were handed down in August, PTI reported.
Under Indian law, a death sentence imposed by a sessions court must be submitted to the High Court for confirmation.
Around 100 murder cases pending before Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar have been transferred to the court of the District and Sessions Judge through an administrative order, officials said on Wednesday. The move came after Diwakar's court handed down 22 death sentences to 22 convicts in 10 cases over the past four months.
The cases, involving offences punishable with death or life imprisonment, were transferred from the fast-track court headed by Diwakar to the court of District and Sessions Judge Virendra Kumar Singh, government counsel Kuldeep Kumar told PTI.
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District Bar Association president Pramod Tyagi said there were apprehensions among lawyers and litigants over the possibility of the court awarding capital punishment. Through an administrative order issued on Tuesday, the district judge decided to recall the cases to his own court, he said.
The cases that were earlier handled by Diwakar included the murders of a lawyer, a home guard and a farmer, as well as a highway robbery-murder.
Diwakar's court awarded three death sentences in the murder of lawyer Sameer Saifi on April 6, followed by four in another murder case on April 28. Two convicts were sentenced to death on June 20, one on July 2, two on July 6 and four on July 17. Five more death sentences were handed down in August, PTI reported.
The pace of the rulings has drawn attention because trial courts across Uttar Pradesh awarded 28 death sentences in 20 cases during the whole of 2025, according to the Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report 2025 by the Square Circle Clinic at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.
The death sentences are not immediately enforceable. Under Indian law, a death sentence imposed by a sessions court must be submitted to the High Court for confirmation.
The frequency of Diwakar's rulings has also revived discussion around capital punishment and the "rarest of rare" doctrine, under which the death penalty is meant to be reserved for the most exceptional cases.
WHO IS RAVI KUMAR DIWAKAR?
Born in July 1980, Diwakar was appointed as a civil judge in 2009 and has served in several Uttar Pradesh districts, including Sultanpur, Budaun, Varanasi and Bareilly. He has served in Muzaffarnagar since November 2025.
He first came into the national spotlight in 2022, when, as a civil judge in Varanasi, he ordered a videographic survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. He later reported receiving death threats and malicious calls from international numbers following the order.
Diwakar also drew attention in March 2024 after referring 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.
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(with inputs from PTI)
