Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Indian counterpart on the (a) reported sentencing of UK citizen Jagtar Singh Johal to the death penalty and (b) need for a full investigation into Mr Johal's allegations of torture.

The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously and raises concerns with the local authorities where appropriate. We regularly raise Mr Johal's case directly with the Government of India, including his allegations of torture, his right to a fair trial, and concerns about delays to legal proceedings against him. The UK Government is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We raise this opposition with India regularly as part of discussions on human rights concerns.

We have emphasised to the Government of India the need for Mr Johal's torture allegations to be fully investigated. The Foreign Secretary raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on 15 December 2020. The Secretary of State for International Trade raised the case with the Indian Minister for Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, on 5 February. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, last raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian High Commissioner on 16 April 2021. He also raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kishan Reddy, and with Minister Prasad on 15 March.