The Delhi High Court has granted bail to British national Jagtar Singh Johal @ Jaggi across multiple National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases involving alleged Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terror conspiracies and targeted killings.

Overturning the Trial Court's orders refusing bail, the Court emphasized that Johal’s fundamental right to a speedy trial under Article 21 outweighed statutory restraints under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, given that he had spent over eight years in continuous pre-trial incarceration with only 40 out of over 160 prosecution witnesses examined so far.

The Division Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja ordered, "There are various accused who are facing trial in the above RC(s), and no document has been produced before us to substantiate that the threats are in any manner emanating from the appellant or at his behest...Given the above factors, the impugned orders passed by the learned Trial Court cannot be sustained and are accordingly set aside. The appellant is directed to be released on bail in the above RC(s)."

Advocate Jawahar Raja appeared for the Appellant, while ASG Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare appeared for the Respondent

The appellant, Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi, a British national, was arrayed as an accused in multiple cases investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the IPC, Arms Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The prosecution alleged that he was a member of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and a close confidante of key operatives. He was specifically accused of carrying GBP 3,000 from the UK to France to deliver to KLF chief Harminder Singh Mintoo to recruit co-accused Hardeep Singh for executing targeted killings and terror activities in Punjab.

The appellant was arrested on November 4, 2017, and has been in continuous pre-trial detention for over 8 years.

The Appellant submitted that despite repeated orders of the Supreme Court, only 40 witnesses were examined. He submitted that around 123 more witnesses were yet to be examined by the prosecution and, therefore, there was no possibility of the trial concluding any time soon. 

It was submitted that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had previously granted bail to the appellant in a connected NIA case on the ground of delay, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court. The appellant was also acquitted on similar allegations of terror conspiracy by a Sessions Court in Moga, Punjab.

The Respondent submitted that the appellant is a foreign national and is a flight risk. It was also submitted that the appellant was charged with offences for encouraging terrorism, separatism and killing of persons belonging to a particular community.

The Court observed, "we find that the appellant has remained in custody for more than 8 years. Though the charges stand framed against the appellant in the aforesaid RCs, only 40 witnesses have so far been examined and we are informed that there are another 123 witnesses whose testimony is yet to be recorded. Out of these witnesses, there are about 63 common witnesses to the above RC(s), however, in spite of that, the trial is certainly not likely to conclude any time soon." 

The Court noted that the liberty of the appellant cannot be curtailed only on the submission of the Respondent that the Appellant, being a foreign national, is a flight risk.

The Court held, "Though the learned ASG may be correct in his submission that the above order of acquittal cannot act as a res judicata, the fact remains that on similar averments, the appellant is being implicated in these RCs as a co-conspirator. Therefore, at least for enlarging the appellant on bail, this order shall have a strong persuasive value."

In September 2024, the High Court had refused to grant bail to the appellant, saying that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he was not an innocent person. 

Cause Title: Jagtar Singh Johal@Jaggi v. National Investigation Agency [Neutral Citation:2026:DHC:7994-DB]

Appearances:

Appellant: Advocates Jawahar Raja, Maulshree Pathak, Aditi Saraswat, Nitai Hinduja and Ishaan Goel

Respondent: ASG Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare, Advocates Shilpa Singh and Priyam Agrawal

Click here to read/download the Judgment

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