Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) Chief Asiya Andrabi. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO
A Delhi court on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment after convicting her in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Andrabi is the head of the banned all-women organization Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DEM).
Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh of Karkardooma Court delivered the verdict. The judge also sentenced her associates Sofi Fehmeed and Naheeda Nasreen to 30 years in prison.
The case stems from a 2018 FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which accused the trio of running the DEM and supporting the secession of Jammu and Kashmir from India, allegedly through violent means. During the trial, the central agency presented evidence such as videos and social media posts from Facebook and Twitter that allegedly praised militants like Burhan Wani, encouraged stone-pelting and expressed support for Pakistan.
The court leveled charges including criminal conspiracy, waging war against the Government of India, sedition, promoting enmity between groups, disturbing national integration and offenses under the UAPA against the accused women.
After the conviction, the NIA sought life imprisonment for Andrabi, arguing that her actions amounted to waging war against India and that a severe punishment was necessary to send a strong message against anti-state activities.
The women argued that they were educated and suffered from various health problems. However, the court noted that factors such as education and health carry more weight in cases involving isolated incidents where the crime is seen as an exception in an otherwise well-behaved life. In this case, the court found that such considerations did not justify a lenient sentence.
“In this matter, the conduct of the convicts is not an isolated incident and is a continuous conduct adopted and carried out by the convicts. Moreover, the said conduct and activities of the convicts are undoubtedly done with full knowledge of the actions and were done voluntarily. The acts for which the convicts were found guilty are those which attack the very existence of India and aim at detachment from the integral part of the court.”
Noting that there is no doubt that there is nothing to prove that the convicts used violence to achieve their nefarious purpose and goal, but the recorded material reflects that the convicts abhorred violence as such, rather they indirectly supported the use of violence by glorifying the slain terrorists.
“Apparently the recorded acts of the convict are not the direct cause of incitement to violence but they are instilling in the minds of Kashmiris, especially the youth, the idea that Kashmir is not a part of India and India has occupied Kashmir illegally and in a hostile manner it may arouse the sentiment of the people of Kashmir as well as may lead them to use all kinds of supposed methods, including their liberation, to seek violence as wrong,” the court said.
Published – 24 March 2026 17:29 IST
