Kashmiri separatist Asiya Andrabi, two aides convicted in terror case by Delhi court
Andrabi was arrested in 2018 for allegedly using various platforms to spread “insurrectionary imputations and hateful speeches” that endangered integrity of India.
Andrabi, chief of the banned Kashmiri outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DEM), was arrested in 2018 for allegedly using various platforms to spread “insurrectionary imputations and hateful speeches” that endangered the integrity, security, and sovereignty of India.
A detailed order is awaited.
In September 2025, the court of NIA Judge Chander Jit Singh had rejected the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA’s) plea to submit additional evidence against Andrabi and her associates through a supplementary chargesheet after final arguments in the trial had been concluded.
In February 2021, the court had framed terrorism, sedition, UAPA and other charges against Andrabi and her two associates for allegedly waging war against the government of India and conspiring to commit terror acts in the country.
The court had framed charges under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the Government of India), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war against Government of India), 124-A (sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153-B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC.
It had also framed charges under sections 18 (conspires or attempts to commit, or advocates, abets, advises or incites terror act), 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) under UAPA Act.
As per the NIA, Andrabi and her associates were involved in conspiracy to “severely destabilise the sovereignty and integrity of India”. The agency further claimed that through their activities on cyber space, the three were running a concerted campaign to solicit support of the Pakistani establishment, which included arranging support from terrorist entities from Pakistan.
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The NIA had further claimed the three were using various media platforms to spread hateful speeches that endanger the integrity, security and sovereignty of India and that they openly advocated secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India.
They were arrested in April 2018 and have been in custody since.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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