Srinagar, Nov. 22 -- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Friday rejecting the bail of a drug peddler seeking it on the plea of having served one-third of his sentence, ruled that prolonged incarceration as consideration cannot in itself be an independent ground for the grant of bail in such cases.

The bench of Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal rejected the bail application of the 27-years-old accused Shahnawaz Ahmad Dar of Tullakhan Bijbehara, Anantnag. The 84-years-old Mohammad Jabbar Dar, the grandfather of the accused had filed the bail application.

His lawyer pleaded that Shahnawaz had already undergone more than one-third of the minimum sentence prescribed under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. "In light of such prolo...