Supreme Court Reasserts KA Najeeb, Warns Against “Hollowing Out” Constitutional Protections in UAPA Cases; Questions Umar Khalid Bail Verdict
18 May 2026 | Sabrang India
In a constitutionally significant ruling with far-reaching implications for bail jurisprudence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Supreme Court on May 18 strongly reaffirmed the primacy of personal liberty and the right to speedy trial, while cautioning against judicial trends that permit prolonged incarceration solely on the basis of allegations under anti-terror laws.
A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to Syed Iftikhar Andrabi, a Jammu and Kashmir resident accused in a narco-terror case investigated by the National Investigation Agency, after he spent almost six years in custody awaiting trial. In doing so, the Court delivered one of its strongest recent reaffirmations of the landmark three-judge bench ruling in Union of India v. KA Najeeb, holding that constitutional courts cannot permit indefinite pre-trial incarceration under the guise of national security…