Muzaffarnagar Court Awards 17 Death Sentences in 100 Days
· India · Indian Express, India Today, NDTV
Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, presiding over Fast Track Court No. 3 in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, sentenced 17 people to death across seven separate murder trials between April 6 and July 17. The figure exceeds trial court death sentences handed down across the entirety of Uttar Pradesh in 2025, when 28 capital terms were recorded in 20 cases. All death sentences delivered by a sessions court require confirmation by a High Court. Decade-long data from the Square Circle Clinic at NALSAR University of Law indicates High Courts have confirmed roughly one in ten death sentences examined since 2016. Supreme Court guidelines established in the 2022 Manoj v State of Madhya Pradesh case mandate that trial courts place on record time-bound reports on an accused's psychiatric condition, jail conduct, and background before issuing a death sentence.
Why it matters
The exceptionally high rate of capital sentencing in a single trial court highlights a sharp divergence from national trends in Uttar Pradesh, while raising questions over mandatory compliance with Supreme Court sentencing guidelines.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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