Srinagar, June 20 -- The recent bail order in a narco-terror case under the anti-terror law is more than a routine judicial intervention; it is a sharp reminder of how liberty and justice are compromised when prolonged incarceration becomes the default. The Court's reliance on conviction statistics, which show that between 2019 and 2023 conviction rates under this law ranged from 1.5% to 4% nationally and remained below 1% in Jammu and Kashmir, exposes a troubling reality. When acquittals are statistically the overwhelming outcome, denying bail amounts to punishment without trial. The principle that "bail is the rule and jail is the exception" gains renewed urgency in this context, for otherwise the justice system risks legitimising indef...