“I would rather die than be called a coward judge.”

Judge Diwakar, who was transferred after awarding 22 death sentences, has now sentenced another man Nadeem to death for setting his 23-year-old wife, Shahzadi, on fire during a dispute in 2018.

In his judgment, he wrote: “I would prefer death rather than get called a coward judge. I would serve only if I could follow my principles, otherwise I would resign.”

Another powerful reminder that a judge’s courage can matter as much as the law itself.