India, May 18 -- Reinforcing the principle that personal liberty remains central even under stringent anti-terror laws, the Supreme Court on Monday observed that "bail is the rule and jail is an exception" and granted bail to an accused in a high-profile narco-terror case linked to Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to Syed Iftikhar Andrabi, a resident of Handwara, who is facing trial over his alleged involvement in a cross-border network accused of drug trafficking and terror financing in Jammu and Kashmir.

The court directed Andrabi to surrender his passport and report to the local police station once every 15 days as part of the bail conditions.

The National Investigation Agen...