Muzaffarnagar, Sept. 8 -- Additional District and Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who has awarded 22 death sentences in 10 cases over the past four months, has handed down another capital punishment in a dowry death case despite expressing concerns over threats and pressure from criminal elements.
In his September 7 judgment, the judge said he would rather die than be known as a "coward judge" who surrendered to the dictates of mafias, strongmen or criminals. He said his parents had taught him from childhood to fear only God and no other person.
"If I become fearful of other forces, it would be appropriate for me to resign from this sacred judicial institution," Diwakar observed in his judgment. He asserted that as long as he occupied ...