The families of the Air India victims and British Columbia's Attorney General expressed their disappointment Wednesday after the B.C. Court of Appeal granted bail to the only person convicted for the bombing.
Inderjit Singh Reyat was convicted of two separate manslaughter charges related to the horrific incident that killed 331 people in a plane off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985 and in another explosion at Japan's Narita airport.
Reyat served his entire sentence for the two convictions but was kept in jail on perjury charges for his testimony at the trial of another two men accused in taking part in the bombings.
B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said he was "disappointed in the release."
But he also said he was satisfied with the strict bail conditions set for Reyat. The conditions have not been released to the public.
His wife, Satnam, told The Canadian Press she was not sure when Reyat would be released but it could be as early as Wednesday, once the paperwork was completed. Reyat spent two decades behind bars.
Susheel Gupta of Air India Victims Families Association spoke to Â鶹´«Ã½net Wednesday to express the families' disappointment in the announcement. He lost his mother in the bombing.
He said that many Air India families feel that the Canadian justice system has let them down already, and Wednesday's decision has caused some to "lose faith" in the system.
"What does worry me is that as recently as the last parole hearing that was held for Mr. Reyat, those individuals entrusted to determine if he is eligible for parole felt that releasing him would be a risk to the community," he said.
Earlier this year, the B.C. Supreme Court denied Reyat bail on accusations that he lied in his testimony at the trial that ended in the acquittals of Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik.
Justice Ian Josephson called Reyat "an unmitigated liar under oath" in his acquittal ruling.
The B.C. Supreme Court denied bail to Reyat, saying that his detention was necessary to maintain confidence in the justice system.
In June, Reyat's lawyer asked the Appeal Court to overturn the ruling.
"He's been in jail a long time," his lawyer, Ian Donaldson, said outside the court after the decision Wednesday.
"Keep in mind that Reyat is charged with perjury and he served his complete sentence in all the other crimes that he was convicted of," Oppal said.
The Air India bombing is believed to have been plotted by militant extremists in B.C. who were allegedly retaliating against the government-owned airline for a raid on the Golden Temple, formally known as the Harmandir Sahib, which is Sikhism's holiest shrine.
Air India flight 182, originating from Toronto with a Montreal stopover exploded off the coast of Ireland, killing 329 passengers and crew. Two baggage handlers died at Narita airport when luggage was being transferred on to another Air India flight.
The luggage carrying the explosives was checked in at Vancouver's airport.
Reyat's perjury trial is scheduled for January.
"The families are eagerly awaiting the trial on those charges of perjury," he said, adding there were more than 20 perjury charges.
With files from The Canadian Press
