Jaspal Singh, who is serving a life sentence, was released on bail in May 2023 from Nabha Open Jail after furnishing a personal bond of ₹1 lakh. According to officials, the Punjab government had forwarded a proposal in September 2022 seeking remission of his sentence, but the Governor has not yet taken a decision on the recommendation.

A senior jail official said the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a contempt case (COCP No. 2020/2022), had ruled that if the Governor failed to decide on a remission proposal within three months, the prisoner should be released on bail until a decision is taken. Acting on that judgment, Patiala Chief Judicial Magistrate Navdeep Kaur Gill granted bail to Jaspal Singh.

This was not the first time Jaspal Singh had secured such relief. In April 2019, he was granted parole under similar circumstances. Although Nabha Jail authorities granted him parole in the Khalra murder case, he remained in custody because of a separate five-year sentence in FIR No. 81/1996 registered at Tanda Police Station.

Jaspal Singh subsequently filed a habeas corpus petition before the High Court, arguing that he had remained in prison since 2005 and that the five-year sentence had already run concurrently with his life sentence. However, he withdrew the petition in September 2019.

Later in 2019, then Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore rejected his remission plea after objections were raised by the Union Home Ministry, resulting in the continuation of his life imprisonment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was granted parole along with other eligible prisoners.

In 2021, Jaspal Singh again approached the High Court seeking remission but withdrew the petition in August 2022. The court then directed him to surrender by August 16, 2022. Officials said he has spent a significant portion of his imprisonment in the open jail.

In 2005, a CBI court in Patiala convicted former DSP Jaspal Singh and ASI Amarjit Singh, sentencing both to life imprisonment for the abduction and murder of Jaswant Singh Khalra in 1995. Former SHOs Surinderpal Singh, Jasbir Singh and Satnam Singh, along with Head Constable Prithipal Singh, were sentenced to seven years in prison.

During the appeal, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the life sentence of Jaspal Singh, acquitted Amarjit Singh, and enhanced the sentences of the remaining four convicts from seven years to life imprisonment.

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