bail

Last year Johal was acquitted in a case where he was accused of financially supporting the KLF terror group.

He remained in prison because he faces federal charges in eight other cases, for which he potentially faces the death penalty.

However, his legal team argues that these cases are almost identical and that the other charges should be dismissed.

There have been hundreds of hearings over the past nine years and the bail order concludes that the trial is “certainly not likely to conclude anytime soon”.

His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal – who has lobbied successive governments calling for his release – said the decision to grant bail had been a “really important milestone”.

“It is just a first step, but it is a step in the right direction,” he said.

The move was also welcomed by politicians and the legal charities Redress and Reprieve, who represent Johal in the UK.

Reprieve’s deputy executive director Dan Dolan said the release was “a really important moment” – but that Johal still faced the death penalty on “trumped up charges”.

“It is really important that we recognise he’s not out of the woods yet,” he said.

“We now really need to push to get him home.”

Redress said Johal’s release from prison could not undo “the intolerable suffering caused by nine years of arbitrary detention”.

The family of a Scottish Sikh activist who has been locked up in India for almost nine years without conviction have said he has been granted bail.

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, was arrested in 2017 in connection with alleged terror offences.

He was arrested for his alleged role in a series of targeted killings of religious and political figures.

His family said they were still waiting for the details of what will happen next but are “relieved” by the Indian court’s decision.

The 39-year-old was acquitted last year in a case in which he was accused of financially supporting terror group the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), which has carried out attacks in the Punjab region.

But he still faces federal charges lodged by the Indian authorities.

Johal’s imprisonment was recognised by a UN panel as arbitrary detention in 2022 and he has claimed to have been tortured.

Indian authorities have previously denied the torture claim and have repeatedly maintained due process is being followed.

He was arrested in the Punjab region just weeks after his wedding in the country.

His supporters say he was targeted for blogging about alleged human rights abuses against the Sikh community in India and was coerced into signing a false confession to participation in the killings.

His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal has lobbied successive governments calling for his brother’s release.