Andrabi UAPA case stuck over jurisdiction concerns

NEW DELHI: Arguments on sentencing of Kashmiri separatist Aasiya Andrabi and her two associates, convicted last month under UAPA for conspiring to wage war against India and for membership of a terrorist outfit, could not begin on Wednesday as the question of jurisdiction has not yet been decided.

Andrabi, founder of women separatist organisation Dukhtaraan-e-Millat, and her aides Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen were arrested by NIA in a 2018 case and held guilty on Jan 14 by additional sessions judge Chanderjit Singh.

However, the sentencing remains stalled pending clarity on jurisdiction.

The impasse traces back to Nov 2025, when judge Singh was transfersred from NIA court to Karkardooma family courts. Since the verdict in the case had already been reserved, he retained the file and convicted the trio last month.

The confusion over sentencing, however, resurfaced after the matter was transferred back to Singh by NIA court judge Prashant Sharma, who had earlier held that the judge delivering the conviction should also decide the quantum of punishment. Singh had been hearing the matter since 2024 before his transfer. However, since the case falls within the NIA court’s jurisdiction, his present posting as a family court judge has added to the procedural complexity. The HC had held in another case that where a sessions case had been heard in its entirety, the predecessor judge was “duty-bound to pronounce the judgment”. The next hearing on Feb 17, 2026 will determine how to further proceed on the matter.

‘Does judgment include sentencing?’
Arguments on sentencing in Aasiya Andrabi’s criminal conspiracy case was put off as a Delhi court must first decide if judgment passed on Jan 14 includes both conviction and sentencing. The judge who convicted her was transferred, causing deadlock over who should pass the sentence.


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