Jagtar Singh Johal denied bail after years in Indian prison as brother blasts 'glaring injustice'

Detained Scot Jagtar Singh Johal has been denied bail after seven years in an Indian jail.

The family of the 37-year-old Dumbarton man has called on the UK Government to step in and stop the "glaring injustice".

The High Court of Delhi has denied bail in seven cases against him brought by India’s National Investigations Agency (NIA).

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Sikh activist Jagtar faces terror charges in connection with political violence in the north of the India after he was arrested while visiting Punjab for his wedding in 2017. He is accused of being involved in a political murder plot.

Jagtar’s brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal said: “My brother should not be in prison. All he ever did was stand up for human rights, as we have said from day one. Prosecutors can’t come up with any evidence against him because there isn’t any. Today’s ruling is a harsh reminder that the system is stacked against him.

"Prosecutors are able to drag out the case, potentially for decades, to deny him justice. Even these simple bail applications have taken more than a year to be considered because the prosecution has sought so many needless adjournments. His continued imprisonment is a glaring injustice and something the UK Government needs to step in to put right - and bring Jagtar home.”

Two other cases against Jagtar were dismissed but the court stated the allegations against the Scot are grave and must be considered seriously. They acknowledged that his trials have been severely delayed and that Jagtar has been imprisoned for almost seven years - but ruled that this was not sufficient grounds to grant bail.

The High Court's ruling today is directly at odds with a Supreme Court’s order in 2023 and subject to challenge.

Jagtar had previously been bailed in two cases. In March 2022, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana granted bail on the basis that Jagtar had been imprisoned without trial for five years and that this violated his right to access to justice.

In August 2023, in an appeal filed by the NIA to the March 2022 order, India’s Supreme Court challenged prosecutors to present credible evidence against him, and as they were unable to do so, upheld the lower court’s order granting bail.

All nine cases against Jagtar are based on the claims that he made a false confession after being tortured with electricity by police, who are said to have brought petrol into the cell and threatened to burn him alive.

Campaigners say that prosecutors have now had almost seven years and have presented no physical evidence, no email trail, no CCTV footage, no record of a bank transfer, and no recordings of telephone calls linking Jagtar to the supposed conspiracy.

The officer who arrested Jagtar in 2017 admitted in court that there is no evidence against him when cross-examined under oath. UN legal experts have recognised Jagtar is arbitrarily detained and is being targeted for his human rights activism.

Last week, First Minister John Swinney called for Jagtar's immediate release after a meeting with his brother saying he was "gravely concerned" at his continued detention.

In July, Foreign Secretary David Lammy raised Jagtar's case with his Indian counterpart on a visit to New Delhi and said said the UK Government wanted to "see progress" in the legal case.

Harriet McCulloch, Reprieve Deputy Director, who have been fighting Jagtar's case said: “These bail rulings should shock the UK Government into action. Jagtar has been imprisoned for almost seven years, most of his thirties, on the basis of a torture confession.

"There is no case against him. To deny Jagtar bail when there is no end in sight to his trials and no credible evidence has been presented is clearly unjust. India is keeping a British human rights activist in arbitrary detention while his government stands by.

"The UK Government should be actively seeking his release, doing whatever it takes - the important thing is to get him out of prison.”

An FCDO Spokesperson said: “The Government has been clear that we remain absolutely committed to pushing for faster progress on Jagtar Singh Johal’s case.

“The Foreign Secretary raised concerns about allegations of torture and the right to a fair trial in a meeting with the Minister of External Affairs in India in July.”

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