NIA Court Judge Seeks Security For UP Judge Who Ordered ‘Gyanvapi Survey’

An NIA court’s Special judge has written to the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court, seeking security for Additional District Judge (Fast Track Court) Bareilly Ravi Kumar Diwakar. Judge Diwakar is known for ordering a videographic survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises in 2022. In his letter, NIA court special judge Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi referred to an FIR lodged by UP ATS against Adnan Khan under various IPC and the UAPA sections for allegedly threatening additional sessions judge Diwakar. In the FIR, Khan has been accused of operating an Instagram account to issue threats against Judge Diwakar, encouraging violence against him.#JustIN | An NIA court’s special judge has requested #AllahabadHighCourt’s Registrar General for security cover for ADJ (FTC) Bareilly Ravi Kumar Diwakar [who directed a survey of the #GyanvapiMosque in 2022], claiming a conspiracy by “Islamic fundamentalist forces” to kill him. pic.twitter.com/CX9SH6kDCG Taking into account the allegations made against Adnan in the UP ATS FIR, the letter written by NIA Judge Tripathi, a copy of which has been accessed by LiveLaw, states thus: “… from the investigation so far (in the FIR against Khan), the fact is coming to light that a conspiracy is being hatched by Islamic fundamentalist forces to kill the Additional District Judge, Mr. Ravi Kumar Diwakar by declaring him an infidel, which is a very sensitive matter.” As per the allegations made against Khan in the FIR, he posted a photo of Judge Diwakar with the caption THE KAFIRS BLOOD IS HALAL FOR YOU THOSE WHO FIGHT AGAINST YOUR DEEN and the word KAFIR is written in red above the eyes on his face in the photo. The FIR, lodged by UP ATS Investigating officer, states that the alleged Instagram post has been seen by a lot of people and through this post, “people associated with their ideology have been motivated to kill the judge hearing the Gyanvapi case and the said post is hurting the religious sentiments of people of other religions and Anti-national activities are being carried out to spread enmity and hatred between classes”. “If the above mentioned acts of Adnan are not curbed, any untoward incident may occur,” the FIR further avers. Judge Diwakar, now posted as an Additional Sessions Judge in UP’s Bareilly district, has also written to the government secretary expressing concerns regarding his present security cover, terming it ‘inadequate’. In his letter, Judge Diwakar further stated that “Islamic fundamentalist forces are brainwashing people of a particular religion and instigating them against me, and a conspiracy is being hatched to kill me by declaring me an infidel. Therefore, this letter is being sent to provide proper security arrangements and for necessary action.” It may be noted that in May 2022, Judge Diwakar, then posted as Civil Judge (Sr. Di.), Varanasi Court, while ordering the continuation of the survey of Gyanvapi Mosque premises, claimed that his family always remains concerned about his safety. In April 2022, Judge Diwakar ordered an inspection of the Gyanvapi Mosque premises on petitions moved by five Hindu women asking for year-long access to pray at a Hindu shrine behind the western wall of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi.