On Monday, the Supreme Court of India reiterated that 'bail is the rule and jail the exception,' even concerning cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). This statement came as the court reviewed its earlier decision denying bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leaders Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in connection with the Delhi riots conspiracy case. Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan expressed serious reservations about the previous judgment, which they felt weakened the binding precedent established in the landmark Union of India vs KA Najeeb case.

The court highlighted that the interpretation in the earlier ruling suggested that the KA Najeeb decision was a narrow exception, which it is not. The judges cautioned against the trend of smaller benches disregarding larger bench rulings and emphasized that the constitutional right to a speedy trial under Article 21 cannot be compromised, even for those charged under stringent anti-terror laws. The bench granted bail to Syed Iftikhar Andrabi, who had been in custody since June 2020, underscoring that indefinite detention without trial cannot be justified solely based on statutory bail restrictions.