JOIN USIsro row: Govt stand hardens
A day after reports of two committees that probed the controversial $300 million Antrix-Devas deal were made public by the Department of Space(DoS), there are indications that the Centre may initiate criminal proceedings against four former Isro scientists.
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) told Deccan Herald in Bangalore, over the phone that while prosecution, based on the findings of the probe committees “was not ruled out,” the authorities are also firm that the re-employment ban on the former scientists will not be revoked.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said in a statement that “if and when the government decides to insitute criminal or other charges against any person, that person will be provided appropriate oppurtunity and due processes shall be followed.”
The possibility of prosecuting the scientists is based on the recommendation of a high-level panel that there be an investigation by an appropriate agency to check “any possible illegitimate financial gain” on the part of the four former Isro scientists.
The PMO had in the last week of January banned the re-employment of former Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair, former scientific secretary A Bhaskarnarayana, Antrix’s former executive director K R Sridharamurthi and ex-director of the space agency’s satellite centre K N Shankara.
Condemning the Pratyush Sinha-led High Level Team’s report, Nair told Deccan Herald that he has “appealed to the prime minister” and that he was confident “he would act to provide justice”. In his characteristic style Nair ridiculed the report, saying it was “one-sided”. Sinha was a former Chief Vigilance Commissioner.
But Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy told Deccan Herald that Nair has been misleading the country with inaccurate statements. “If you see both reports, it is clear that Nair was given an opportunity to meet members of the committee but he has been making statements to the contrary, misleading people,” Narayanasamy said.
The damning findings of the Sinha committee report, inter alia, suspect that the scientists might have made “illegitimate” financial gains from two “Mauritius-based entities” which invested in Devas anticipating lucrative financial benefits from the deal which was scrapped in February 2011.
“For Devas, an internet service provider with a shared capital of Rs 1 lakh with no asset base and no IPR (intellectual property rights) or patent in the relevant technology and which has been making losses since inception, to collect Rs 587 crore as share premium from foreign investors appears to be unusual and can only be attributed to the agreement that it had with Antrix,” said the panel headed by Sinha.
The report’s conclusion, along with two other documents, was released by Isro on Saturday night to counter criticisms from Nair and some other veteran scientists who came down heavily on the government for banning him and three of his Isro colleagues from all reemployment in government.
Pointing the needle of suspicion on financial benefits towards former Isro scientists and officials involved with the Isro/Antrix-Devas deal, the Sinha panel said the Department of Revenue (under the Finance Ministry) and the ministry of corporate affairs had initiated investigations on various acts of “omission and commission”, which includes one of the tainted Isro scientists A Bhaskarnarayana’s acceptance of US hospitality from one of companies involved in the Devas deal.
Devas was set up by US-based Forge Advisors with a share capital of Rs 1 lakh with two shareholders namely Venugopal D – an ex-Isro scientist – and Umesh M.
The agreement with Antrix was signed in January 2005 and by December 2005 the ordinary share capital increased to over Rs 5 lakh with 12 shareholders, including three members of the Forge team who made the original presentation to Isro. As on March 31, 2010 Devas had 17 shareholders. The largest four are two Mauritius-based company, another firm named Deutsche Telekom and M G Chandrasekhar, another ex-Isro scientist.
The investigation will look into the unusual and rapidly changing share-holding pattern of Devas, role of its parent US-based company Forge Advisor and the involvement of current and former crop of Isro scientists behind the deal that culminated into a commercial agreement with Antrix, signed with Devas on January 28, 2005. Antrix is Isro’s commercial wing that signed an agreement with Devas for exclusive leasing of S-band transponders for launching of satellite-based digital multimedia broadcast services in India.
In a series of serious administrative and procedural lapses, the top brass of Isro took the Union Cabinet and Space Commission’s permission on the two satellites without informing the Cabinet and the Commission that 90 per cent of the transponders in the two satellites will be used by a private company for the satellites’ entire life. Apart from the four scientists, the Sinha panel report recommended action against four bureaucrats in the department of space.
Controversy fallout
* Isro chairman relinquishes the post of Antrix chairman
* Addition of Director (Legal) and Director (Projects and Procurement) in Department of Space
* Internal audit function strengthened
* Former IISc director Govardhan Mehta joins Space Commission
* INSAT Coordination Committee reconstituted and activated
* Technical Advisory Group and Standing Pricing Committee activated
* A Director (Costing) to be appointed soon
* Space Commission is being regularly appraised of Antrix affairs
* A revised utilisation plan has been made for GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A
* ICC evolving guidelines for transponder allocation in future