British Activist Jagtar Singh Johal Released on Bail in India After Nine Years

British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal has been released on bail in India, though his family and supporters have warned he is still facing the death penalty on trumped-up charges and subject to stringent restrictions on his movement, association, and ability to speak freely. 

Jagtar had been arbitrarily detained by the Indian authorities for almost nine years, since being targeted for his human rights activism and abducted and tortured by police while on his honeymoon. The country’s High Court ruled that his continued imprisonment violated his constitutional rights, noting that prosecutors have failed to produce any credible evidence against him, and ordered he be released on bail.

Prison officials declined to release Jagtar, in defiance of the bail order, saying they were seeking “clarification” from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The MHA apparently did not respond to repeated requests. This morning, the High Court granted a writ of habeas corpus filed by Jagtar’s lawyers and ordered the prison authorities to release Jagtar within three hours or be found in contempt of court. 

In March 2025, Jagtar was acquitted on all charges against him by a court in the Indian state of Punjab, but he remains on trial in eight essentially duplicate cases, based on the same torture confession and the same central allegation. The court found that prosecutors had “miserably failed” to provide evidence to support the claims against him. 

The conditions of Jagtar’s bail are extremely restrictive. He must surrender his British passport (the only passport he holds). He must request permission to travel to Punjab, his Indian family’s home state. He may not join WhatsApp groups or social media accounts sharing “anti-national” material. He must make no public comments about the case – we request that media outlets respect this and do not seek to interview or speak to him.

Gurpreet Singh Johal said:

“There have been so many setbacks and disappointments in the last nine years that I didn’t dare to believe it until I saw Jagtar walking out of the prison gates with my own eyes.The last two weeks have been torture – knowing that Jagtar had been granted bail but the authorities were refusing to let him out.

I’ll sleep well tonight, knowing that he’s not behind bars.Tomorrow morning, the fight continues, because he’s still on trial and facing the death penalty for something he didn’t do, trapped in a sham legal process designed to punish him for standing up for human rights. We’ll keep on fighting until he’s home with us. Now it’s over to the UK Government to get it done.”

REDRESS Senior Legal Advisor Chris Esdaile said:

“We are relieved to see Jagtar finally released after almost nine years of arbitrary detention. But the onerous bail conditions, which severely restrict his ‘freedom’ while deeply flawed proceedings continue, mean that the ordeal for Jagtar and his family is far from over. The prolonged uncertainty itself amounts to psychological torture, and the continued proceedings raise serious concerns about double jeopardy, the use of evidence obtained through torture, and the misuse of counter-terrorism laws against activists in India. The remaining cases against him need to be dropped without further delay, and those responsible for his torture must be held to account. Jagtar must also receive the support and rehabilitation he needs to recover from what he has been through.” 

Reprieve Deputy Executive Director Dan Dolan said:

“While tonight is the first night in almost nine years that Jagtar Singh Johal is not caged in a prison cell, he still has the threat of a death sentence hanging over him. While his release on bail is a huge relief for his family and supporters, it is not justice. Jagtar remains on trial in cases that could last for decades and end in capital punishment, centered on a baseless allegation that has been thrown out in court for lack of evidence. His bail conditions deny him any semblance of a normal life. The Foreign Secretary must seize the moment and find a way to bring this young British citizen home to his family in Scotland as soon as possible.” 

Notes for editors 

In May 2025, a group of more than 100 MPs and Peers wrote to then Foreign Secretary David Lammy, calling for “quick and decisive action” from the Government to bring Jagtar home. 

In April 2026, a group of ten UN legal experts called on India to release Jagtar immediately, highlighting the “profound miscarriage of justice” in his case. 

“Eight and a half years of arbitrary detention without a clear path to trial is not justice, it is unlawful suffering …[and] a form of psychological torture,” they wrote. “The fact that he was acquitted, yet still faces near-identical charges, raises serious concerns about double jeopardy, the presumption of innocence, the misuse of counter-terrorism laws, and the integrity of the proceedings.” 

Jagtar was abducted by Indian police officers on 4 November 2017, three weeks after his wedding. He was arbitrarily detained for 3,246 days – missing almost his entire thirties and the first nine years of his married life.  

For more information, please contact Eva Sanchis, Head of Communications, on [email protected] or +44 (0) 7857110076.

Photo by Free Jaggi Now campaign