A Qatar court has approved India's appeal challenging the death penalty for eight former Indian Navy personnel, who were sentenced last month in an alleged espionage case, NDTV reported.

Sources indicate that the Qatari court will schedule a hearing after reviewing the appeal, according to the report.

The eight Indians were detained in August 2022 by Qatar's intelligence agency on charges of spying, although the specific charges have not been disclosed by Qatari authorities.

Despite repeated rejections of their bail petitions, a verdict was issued against them by the Court of First Instance in Qatar last month.

After obtaining consular access, the Indian government is actively working towards securing their release.

In light of the case's sensitive nature, the Ministry of External Affairs has advised against engaging in speculative discussions.

The arrested Indian Navy veterans are Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht and Sailor Ragesh Gopakumar.