After UAPA conviction, NIA pushes for life imprisonment for Asiya Andrabi
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sought life imprisonment for Kashmiri separatist and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi following her conviction in a UAPA case, saying she had waged war against India, and a stern message is required to be sent that conspiring against the state will invite the harshest penalty. Submissions were made before the Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh, who was hearing arguments on the quantum of sentence against Andrabi and her two associates, Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen. They were convicted under the stringent anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), earlier in January.
“The convicts are well-educated women, and their acts were part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India. They were not just part of the conspiracy but were the main perpetrators,” the National Investigation Agency (NIA) submitted in its written arguments. The special public prosecutor representing the NIA submitted before the court that Andrabi and her two associates used social media and seditious gatherings with the support of terrorist entities based abroad to wage a war against India.
“From a reading of posts, imputations made and assertions on Twitter and Facebook posts of convicted persons, it is evident that they were running a concerted war against the government established by law in India,” the SPP said. She submitted that they used their proscribed organisation, Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DEM), to incite insurrection and seek the secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India.
The trio was convicted by the court on January 14, 2026, for various offences under the UAPA and IPC, including conspiracy to commit terror acts and waging war against the state.
The agency highlighted that Andrabi, the chairperson of DEM, has a long history of criminal activities, with 33 FIRs registered against her across various police stations in Jammu and Kashmir. Her associates, Fehmeeda and Nasreen, are involved in nine and five cases, respectively. The NIA informed the court that the convicts colluded with Pakistan-based entities and UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The NIA counsel argued that the convicts’ provocative speeches and social media posts radicalised impressionable youth, leading them to join militancy. She cited several major terror attacks, including those in Pulwama, Uri, and at the Red Fort, and noted that such radicalisation often results in the loss of innocent lives and public property. The prosecution also pointed to a specific instance where Andrabi slaughtered a cow during a protest to defy the Indian legal system and promote enmity between communities, an act the NIA termed “prejudicial to national integration“. Seeking the harshest penalty, the NIA argued that any leniency would undermine public confidence in the efficacy of the law.
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