Cachella Smith
Reporting from court

Khan has been making the point that the aggravating factors to the offending, including abuse of religious privilege, were already addressed by the judge at sentencing.

"The Attorney General has not identified aggravation which the judge missed," Khan says.

He turns later to Digwa's conduct after the offence - he is arguing there are various factors, such as his filming, misleading first responders, and seeking assistance from his mum, which are "interlinked" and suggests they shouldn't be considered separately.

The judges however have been intervening, putting to Khan that they are "discrete" and "striking features".

The Lady Chief Justice says: "It must have been terrifying for Henry."

Stuart Rust
South of England reporter

Imran Khan KC argued the sentencing judge was right to start at 15 years but went wrong in moving up to 23 years before mitigation.

He said several of the aggravating factors the judge relied on were “overlapping descriptions of the same conduct” but were given cumulative weight.

Factors including the size of the blade, its use, the number of wounds and the abuse of the religious exemption “substantially intersect”, he said.

He made the same argument about Digwa’s conduct after the stabbing. He said the filming, the lies to first responders, the concealment and procuring his mother’s help to remove the dagger and sheath should not each be counted as separate aggravating factors.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Khan tells the Court of Appeal that the trial judge at Southampton carried out that sentencing exercise carefully and he had considered all the factors before deciding on the minimum term the AG wants to increase.

"The judge did not overlook the weapon, he did not overlook the additional wounds, the suffering, the filming [of Henry Nowak], the false account, the concealment, the vulnerability [of the victim], the police response or the religious dimension.

"He identified the aggravation and moved from 15 years to 23 years, before mitigation," he told the court.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Imran Khan KC tells the court that the law on unduly lenient sentences, under which the senior judges can increase Digwa’s minimum term, was intended by Parliament to cover exceptional cases - meaning where there has been a really serious error by a judge - and not a disagreement over the exact number of years in “borderline” cases.

Trial judges have a great deal of latitude in how to sentence an offender (providing they stick within the law) because they have heard all the evidence in great detail - details that often do not making it into news reporting.

They also draw on decades of previous comparable cases, specific appeal rulings on how to handle particular types of crimes - and official guidelines that underpin the complicated sentencing calculations you never hear me or others explaining in two minutes of TV.

If you want to read what the judge considered, in all its detail, it's available online, external.

Imran Khan KC, representing Digwa, has stood up now and is setting out the facts of the case for the court.

He starts by saying: "Nothing in our submissions diminishes the gravity of the killing or the loss suffered by Mr Nowak’s family.

"The issue was whether the sentence was lawful and proportionate."

Digwa can still be seen watching proceedings via video link with his arms crossed in his lap.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Digwa was entitled to carry a Sikh Kirpan dagger as part of his faith: the religion says that it must not be carried as an offensive weapon.

For Sikhs, it is a symbol of justice - and the law governing equal treatment of people who believe in one particular faith or another protects their right to carry that symbol. This is a long-settled part of our law, going back decades.

Jonathan Polnay KC, for the Attorney General, tells the Court of Appeal that Digwa had abused that “privilege” by using the dagger as a weapon - and that abuse of a right was a particular aggravating factor - meaning a reason to increase the sentence.

Other aggravating factors in the use of the blade as a weapon included it size, its repeated use - Henry Nowak suffered terrible multiple wounds - and the fact that he had been defenceless.

The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme in England and Wales allows anyone to ask for certain Crown Court sentences to be reviewed.

They must ask the government's law officers, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General, to examine the case within 28 days of sentencing.

If the law officers agree, they can apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to refer the case.

The legal bar for sentence appeals is high. A sentence is only unduly lenient if it falls outside the range a judge could reasonably have given, not simply because others would have given a longer one.

If the judges grant permission, they can increase the sentence or leave it as it is.

Digwa’s own application works differently. He must first be given permission, then show his sentence was “manifestly excessive.”

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

I've now seen the Attorney General Ellie Reeves’ written submissions to the Court of Appeal - and they summarise why she says Digwa’s sentence was too short.

“The minimum term imposed did not reflect the seriousness of the offence,” she says.

“The offender was carrying a substantial bladed weapon in public, immediately available for use, which he repeatedly deployed against an unarmed and defenceless stranger.

“He abused a statutory religious exemption permitting him to carry that weapon. There were significant additional aggravating factors.

“The offender’s sustained attempts to pervert the course of justice, his false allegation of racism against the deceased, his procurement of his mother’s assistance in concealing evidence, his degradation of the dying victim by filming him and his conduct in misleading first responders.”

The hearing has resumed following a brief break triggered by a fire alarm.

The opening arguments of Jonathan Polnay KC, representing the Attorney General, were interrupted by a fire alarm.

An announcement said a fire had been detected in the building.

Those in attendance have now left the courtroom.

Cachella Smith
Reporting from court

The court is continuing to hear from Polnay who is currently telling the judges that the harm caused by the offence was of the "upmost level".

A life was "intentionally taken," he says.

Digwa, who raised his hand at the start of the hearing to identify himself, can be seen via the video link sitting upright with his hands crossed on his lap.

So far he has been staring straight ahead and does not appear to be reacting to the details that are being laid out in court.

The hearing has begun, with the Attorney General’s application being heard first, followed by a response on Digwa’s behalf.

Jonathan Polnay KC, for the Attorney General, told the court he was not asking the judges to conclude that Digwa took the dagger to the scene intending to use it as a weapon.

That would have meant a higher starting point of 25 years. Instead, the trial judge began at 15 years.

The issue, counsel said, is whether the final minimum term of 21 years “sufficiently represented the very high degree of seriousness of the offending”.

The Lady Chief Justice said the court could not guarantee a ruling today. If there is one, it is expected at about 15:00 or 16:00 GMT.

Henry Nowak, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, was a first-year accountancy and finance student at the University of Southampton.

His family said he had been "fully embracing university life" and had been out with his football team mates on the night of his death.

Image source, Handout

Cachella Smith
Reporting from court

I've just arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice where we are set to hear arguments on the length of Vickrum Digwa's sentence.

Lawyers for Digwa will argue his sentence is too long while the Attorney General will put forward that it is too lenient.

There were a number of journalists who arrived early this morning and waited outside the courtroom hoping to secure a seat.

I spotted a few cameras filming outside too.

We've now been let inside the courtroom - and the press benches are filling up rapidly.

Image source, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

Vickrum Digwa was jailed for life in June, with a minimum term of 21 years, for murdering 18-year-old student Henry Nowak in Southampton.

Digwa stabbed Henry with a ceremonial dagger on 3 December 2025 after they met by chance in the Portswood area. Digwa is seeking permission to appeal against the length of his sentence as “manifestly excessive”.

But Solicitor General Ellie Reeves has also referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal as “unduly lenient”, with three senior judges set to hear both bids to change it.

The hearing before Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Nicklin and Mr Justice Wall is due to begin at 10:00 GMT at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.