London, 2 October 2026: The Sikh Federation (UK) has urged the UK government to formally grant Diplomatic Protection to British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal without further delay.
According to the organisation, Johal’s case should not be treated as a routine consular matter. It said that if the UK invokes Diplomatic Protection, the case would be elevated into a formal state-to-state legal dispute between Britain and India.
The Sikh Federation (UK) said such a step would amount to the UK formally recognising Johal’s allegations, including claims that his initial confession was extracted under torture, as an injury to the British state itself. It added that this could provide the UK government with a legal basis to pursue formal remedies against India under international law.
The organisation also referred to the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, stating that the UK government granted Diplomatic Protection to her in 2019 while she was detained in Iran.
![Jagtar Singh Jaggi Johal [File Photo]](https://sikhsiyasatnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Jaggi-Johal-1.jpg)
Dabinderjit Singh OBE, Chief Executive for Political Engagement at Sikh Federation (UK), said confidential information had already been provided to the UK government regarding risks to Johal’s safety.
“We have provided confidential information to the UK government, including risks to Jagtar’s safety that provides strong grounds to grant Diplomatic Protection,” he said.
The Sikh Federation (UK) further said there was cross-party political support for efforts to bring Johal back to the UK and argued that the government already had the necessary means to act.
The organisation said the issue was now whether the UK government had the political will to take that step.
