India, Sept. 9 -- Additional district and sessions judge of Muzaffarnagar, Ravi Kumar Diwakar awarded his 23rd death sentence in five months, and said that he would prefer death to being called a "coward judge". The statement came in a ruling wherein he sentenced a man - convicted of settling his wife ablaze for dowry in 2018 - to death. The judgment highlighted alleged threats, pressure on the judiciary and the influence of gangsters and mafias in UP. "I would prefer to die rather than be called a cowardly judge. Earlier, the district judge recalled 100 cases from justice Diwakar's court and transferred them to other courts.htc
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