The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to British national Jagtar Singh Johal @ Jaggi in cases concerning a series of targeted killings and attempted murders in Punjab. A Division Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja passed the order.

Johal was arrested in Punjab and is facing prosecution in eight cases being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The cases relate to alleged targeted killings in Ludhiana and Jalandhar districts, involving prominent members of the RSS and Hindu organisations. According to the prosecution case, the killings were allegedly part of a conspiracy attributed to the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).

The NIA has alleged that Johal acted as a financier and courier in the alleged conspiracy. As per the prosecution case, he allegedly delivered £3,000 from UK-based KLF associate Gursharan Singh to operative Harminder Singh @ Mintoo in Paris, which was subsequently passed on to alleged shooter Hardeep Singh to fund and motivate the targeted killings.

Johal’s bail applications had earlier been rejected by the NIA Special Court. Five applications were rejected through orders dated September 7, 2022, while two others were rejected on April 25, 2024. The Delhi High Court had subsequently dismissed his appeals against those orders on September 18, 2024.

The Supreme Court later remanded the matter to the Delhi High Court for fresh consideration, following which the bail pleas came up before the present Bench. The High Court has now granted Johal bail in the connected NIA cases.