Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Indian Government on the continued detention of Jagtar Singh Johal ahead of his scheduled court appearance in Delhi on 10 January 2022.

The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously, and we regularly raise Mr Johal's case directly with the Government of India at official and Ministerial level. The Foreign Secretary last raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on 22 October 2021. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, raised Mr Johal's case most recently by letter with the Indian Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, on 16 December and with the Indian High Commissioner on 17 December. The British High Commissioner to India also raised Mr Johal's scheduled court appearance with the Indian Home Secretary on 21 December. Consular staff have attended a number of hearings in Mr Johal's case in an observer capacity, and did so on 10 January. This Government will continue to look to raise our concerns about Mr Johal's case at all appropriate opportunities.