India, May 19 -- Observing that bail is the rule and jail an exception even in UAPA cases, the Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to a manA allegedly involved in drug trafficking and financing terror in Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan granted relief to Handwara resident Syed Iftikhar Andrabi in a high-profile narco-terror case and directed him to surrender his passport and report to the local police station once in 15 days.

The NIA is investigating the case filed in 2020 under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IPC.

The top court said Section 43D(5) of the UAPA cannot justify indefinite incarceration and must operate subject to Articles 21 and 22. The section ou...