A special NIA court at Patiala House has clarified that the sentencing proceedings in the case against Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi and her associates will be conducted by the same judge who convicted them, even though he has since been transferred.
Special Judge Chanderjit Singh, who convicted Andrabi on January 14 for serious offences including conspiracy to wage war against India and membership of a terrorist organisation, will continue to hear arguments on sentencing. He was transferred to the Karkardooma courts in November 2025, but had retained the case file to pronounce the judgment, which was still pending at the time.
The clarification came from Special Judge Prashant Sharma, who now presides over the NIA court. He noted that while he had assumed charge on November 20, 2024, the case remained with Judge Singh, who had repeatedly adjourned hearings on dates fixed for judgment—November 26, December 11, December 24, and January 1—before finally convicting the accused.
Judge Sharma reasoned that since the predecessor judge had extensively heard arguments, examined evidence, and reserved the verdict before his transfer, it would be legally improper and potentially prejudicial for a new judge to step in solely for the sentencing stage. “The judgment of conviction in criminal cases is complete when an order on sentence is passed,” he said, citing legal precedent.
He added, “Law requires that the predecessor of this court should pass an order on sentence so that convicts can file an appeal, if required, according to law.”
Accordingly, the court directed the superintendent of Tihar Jail to produce the convicts before Judge Singh at Karkardooma courts on February 11.
Andrabi, founder of the banned women’s separatist outfit Dukhtaraan-e-Millat (DeM), was arrested in April 2018. On January 14, Judge Singh held her and co-accused Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen guilty under Sections 18 (punishment for conspiracy) and 38 (membership of a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
They were also convicted under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including:
- Section 121A (conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India),
- Section 153A (promoting enmity between groups),
- Section 153B (assertions prejudicial to national integration),
- Section 120B (criminal conspiracy),
- Section 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).
Under Section 16 of the UAPA, offences that result in death are punishable with death or life imprisonment. The exact sentence in this case will be determined after the hearing on February 11.
