New Delhi, March 25 -- A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader Aasiya Andrabi, founder of the banned all-women separatist outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM), to life imprisonment while awarding 30 years in prison to two of her associates, for running a terrorist organisation conspiring the secessionism of Kashmir from the country. The court held that showing the convicts any measure of leniency would encourage their spirit to seek secession of an integral part of the country. On January 14, judge Chanderjit Singh had convicted Andrabi, along with Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen under several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, holding that they had run a terrorist organisation aimed at secession of Jammu and Kashmir from India. The court found that the accused had no allegiance to the Indian Constitution and were unwilling to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the country. It noted that they had used various media platforms to spread insurrectionary propaganda and hate speech endangering national security. The accused were also convicted under the penal sections of criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to commit offences related to waging war against the government and promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, case and place of birth. Andrabi and her associates were arrested by NIA in 2018 for allegedly running a terrorist organisation and using various media platforms to spread insurrectionary propaganda and hate speech threatening India's integrity, security and sovereignty. In a 28-page-order on Tuesday, judge Singh emphasised: "Any leniency to convict has a potential to send a message to others with similar ideas that they can get away with such acts through incarceration for some years and may promote the ideas of causing secession of part of India". Referring to the Supreme Court's 2012 decision that upheld the death sentence awarded to 2008 Mumbai terror attacks convict Ajmal Kasab, the court said that a similar situation had arisen in the present case where no repentance had been shown by any of the convicts who claimed that they were proud of their acts. The court, while agreeing with the defence's argument that there was no evidence to show that the convicts had used violence, said that they rather indirectly promoted the use of violence by "eulogizing the slained terrorists". "Infusing the minds of Kashmiris especially the youngsters with the idea that Kashmir is not a part of India and India has occupied the Kashmir illegally and in a hostile manner can evoke the sentiments of the people of Kashmir as well as it may lead them to use all kind of method including violence to seek the supposed liberation, the idea of which is wrongly seeded in their minds," it said. The court added that the fact that the convicts were educated individuals aggravated the liability for consequences of their actions rather than mitigate them, as it showed that they made an informed rather than an instinctive decision to threaten the country's sovereignty. Justifying the quantum of sentences, judge Singh said that Andrabi was the leader of the conspiracy while her twoassociates were the ground soldiers. The NIA, represented by prosecutor Kanchan, had sought the maximum punishment in the offences -- a life imprisonment. The prosecutor had told the court that given the rising threat of secessionist movements and terror funding, a stern message was required to be sent through Andrabi's case that conspiring against the state would invite the harshest penalty. Notably, for the offences under Sections 18, 38 and 39 of UAPA, the law provides for a maximum punishment extending to life imprisonment. The federal agency said that given their direct incitement to violence, and the grave threat they pose to large sections of society, the maximum punishment of imprisonment for life is only the just a proportionate sentence. Meanwhile, Aasiya and others, represented by senior advocate Satish Tamta and advocate Shariq Iqbal, argued for a lenient sentence, limiting the sentence of the period already undergone in prison. They argued that the convicts had already undergone nearly eight years of imprisonment since July 6, 2018 and their conduct inside the jail has been reported to be good. The defence counsels submitted that the convicts were engaged in social activism and ideological expression concerning the situation in Kashmir. Shortly after their conviction, the case had slipped into a legal impasse, with questions arising over who will hear and pass an order on the quantum of sentence, with family court judge Chanderjit Singh, who delivered the conviction order as an NIA judge, having been transferred to Karkardooma courts, his current posting....