JOIN USISRO espionage case: SC orders CBI probe into framing of scientist Nambi Narayanan
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the CBI to conduct a probe into the role of Kerala police officers in the framing of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in a 1994 espionage case.
"The matter is very serious and it requires CBI probe," a bench presided by Justice A M Khanwilkar said while accepting the report of a panel headed by former top court judge D K Jain which was formed in September 2018.
The court asked acting CBI director to take charge of the case and treat the inquiry report given Justice Jain panel as a preliminary inquiry report to conduct further investigation into the matter.
The bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Vineet Saran, also asked the CBI to file a status report on its investigation within three months. The top court ordered that panel’s report should be kept confidential in sealed cover.
The Centre has filed an application asking the court to open the sealed cover of the report for the passing of appropriate orders as the matter was of national importance.
Narayanan, 79, had waged a legal battle against the Kerala police officers who accused him of being a Pakistan spy in 1994. Besides forming the panel, the top court had directed the Kerala government to pay Rs 50 lakh as compensation for causing immense humiliation to Narayanan.
In 2018, a bench of the then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra decided to appoint a committee under Jain and asked the Centre and the Kerala government to name one person each to the committee. While the Centre appointed D K Prasada, a top official, the Pinarayi Vijayan government appointed former Additional Chief Secretary V S Senthil.
The ISRO espionage case surfaced in 1994 when Narayanan was arrested on charges of espionage along with another senior official of ISRO, two Maldivian women and a businessman.
The CBI had held that the then top police officials in Kerala were responsible for Narayanan's illegal arrest. The panel examined the circumstances leading to Narayanan's arrest. It was alleged that confidential documents on India's space programme were transferred to foreign countries.
Narayanan had maintained that Kerala police fabricated the case and the technology he was accused to have stolen and sold in the 1994 case did not even exist at that time.
Padma Bhushan was conferred upon Narayanan by the Modi government in 2019.