New Delhi

The Supreme Court of India on Monday reiterated that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception” even in cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, while granting bail to an accused in a high-profile narco-terror case linked to alleged cross-border drug trafficking and terror financing activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench comprising Justice B. V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan granted relief to Syed Iftikhar Andrabi, a resident of Handwara, while imposing conditions including surrender of his passport and mandatory appearance at the local police station once every 15 days.

The case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency, which had registered the matter in 2020 under relevant provisions of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

While granting bail, the apex court observed that Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, which lays down stringent conditions for bail, cannot be used to justify prolonged or indefinite incarceration and must be interpreted in harmony with Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution, which safeguard personal liberty and legal protections.

The bench underlined that the principle of granting bail as a norm and imprisonment as an exception flows directly from constitutional guarantees and the presumption of innocence, which remains central to a rule-based legal system.

The court also clarified that its landmark ruling in the Union of India v. K. A. Najeeb case continues to be binding law and cannot be diluted, bypassed, or ignored by trial courts, high courts, or even smaller benches of the Supreme Court.

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Andrabi had approached the apex court after the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh rejected his bail plea, citing scrutiny of mobile phone records that allegedly showed contact with terror operatives across the border.