The Supreme Court criticised its own January verdict that denied bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi riots conspiracy case. It observed that “bail is the rule and jail is an exception” even in cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.The observation was made by a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan while hearing a man’s petition against the Jammu and Kashmir High Court refusing him bail in a narco-terror case under the anti-terror law.In January, the court ordered Khalid and Imam to file fresh bail applications after the witnesses in the case had been examined or after one year.On Monday, the bench said that it had failed to correctly apply the binding principles laid down by a three-judge bench in a 2021 case recognising that prolonged incarceration and delay in trial can override the statutory restrictions on bail under the Act.The January order asking Khalid and Imam to file fresh petitions later violates constitutional guarantees of the right to personal liberty, the bench said. Read on.The Indian rupee weakened to a record low of 96.3 against the United States dollar amid elevated global oil prices and economic headwinds caused by the conflict in West Asia. Its value fell nearly 40 paise during the day.The Indian rupee has been the worst-performing Asian currency in 2026, with a 5.5% fall in its value ⁠since the conflict began on February ​28. Read on.The Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal Police not to take coercive action against Trinamool Congress leader Jahangir Khan, who is a candidate in the Falta Assembly constituency where repolling will be held on May 21. Khan had moved the court alleging that he was being targeted with criminal cases during the polls.The court said that the TMC leader be permitted to fight the polls as long as he cooperates with the investigation in the cases. He needs to be allowed to contest “to keep the spirit of democracy alive”, the judge said.While voting in Falta was held on April 29, the Election Commissioner on May 2 ordered repolling in the constituency citing “severe electoral offences” after it was reported that black tapes had been applied on ballot buttons of the Electronic Voting Machines in favour of or against particular candidates. Read on.India said that a drone strike targeting the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear facility was a “dangerous escalation” of tensions in West Asia. The attack on Sunday had triggered a fire at the nuclear power plant, which is located about 200 km west of Abu Dhabi.There had been no injuries or impact on radiation levels after the incident, the authorities had said. The Barakah plant is the United Arab Emirates’ largest source of electricity and meets about a quarter of the country’s energy needs.Abu Dhabi said that the drone was among the three that “entered the country from the western border direction”. The other two drones had been intercepted. Investigation was underway to determine the source of the attack, it added. Read on.Congress leader VD Satheesan took oath as the chief minister of Kerala, two weeks after the United Democratic Front defeated the Left alliance in the Assembly elections. Twenty ministers were also sworn-in.The Congress had named him the next chief minister on Thursday after a reported deadlock during consultations between the party’s national leadership and its leaders in the state. Read on.If you haven’t already, sign up for our Daily Brief newsletter.