Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, from the district of Muzaffarnagar in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, pronounced his 23rd death sentence in just five months, becoming a notorious figure in the country's judiciary. The judge faces threats and declared that he would rather die than be called a coward, demonstrating determination to continue imposing sentences even under pressure.
The convicted man, identified as Mohd. Nadeem, was sentenced last Monday (7/9) for the brutal murder of his wife, Shahzadi. The crime occurred in July 2018, when Nadeem poured kerosene on the victim and set her body on fire. The court classified the act as "extremely brutal and barbaric," placing it in the "rarest of rare" category, which underpinned the decision for the maximum sentence.
Although Shahzadi's parents and other witnesses altered their testimonies during the trial, denying accusations of cruelty and dowry demands, the court based the conviction on a statement made by the deceased before dying. This document proved Nadeem's direct involvement in the homicide, serving as fundamental evidence for the sentence.
