The UAE Federal Supreme Court has thrown out a deportation order against a UAE-born resident convicted of consuming methamphetamine, unauthorised pregabalin and tropicamide, restoring the original Dh30,000 fine imposed by the court of first instance instead. The case began when a lower court fined the man, who was classified as a repeat offender, for the drug-related conviction. An appeals court later replaced that fine with a deportation order. The man then took his case to the Federal Supreme Court, arguing the appeals court had gone too far. The top court agreed. It ruled that because only the defendant himself had appealed the first ruling, the appellate court was not entitled to hand down a harsher outcome than the original fine — and deportation, the judges found, counted as harsher. Citing Article 126 of the UAE's Crimes and Penalties Law, the court held that deportation cannot legally substitute for a monetary fine in this type of misdemeanour case. Crucially, the conviction itself was not overturned — only the penalty reverted to the original fine. The Supreme Court also noted that the man was born in the UAE and has family there, a factor it considered relevant given the disruption deportation would cause to family life. The ruling underscores a broader principle UAE courts have applied in residency-related cases: an appeal filed by one side alone cannot be used to increase that side's punishment, and judges are weighing family ties more heavily when deportation is on the table for long-term, UAE-born residents.