SC To Hear CBI Plea On Feb 25 Against Bail Granted To Accused In ISRO Espionage Case

The Supreme Court of India (SC) will hear the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea challenging the order of Kerala High Court granting anticipatory bail to four persons in connection with the 1994 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) espionage case involving scientist Nambi Narayanan.

A Bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar adjourned the matter after CBI had sought four week’s time to file the affidavit, reported ANI.

The SC had earlier issued notices to the accused on the petition of CBI.

The Kerala High Court on August 13 last year had granted anticipatory bail to four accused in the case including former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar, two former police officers of Kerala, S Vijayan and Thampi S Durga Dutt, and retired intelligence official PS Jayaprakash.

The CBI sought the cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to them saying that it might derail the investigation in the case.

Appearing for the investigation agency, Additional Solicitor General AS Raju told the court that during its probe, CBI had found that some scientists were tortured and framed in the matter due to which development of cryogenic engine was hit leading to India’s space programme going back decades.

Raju said while opposing the bail granted to the accused that the matter was very serious hinting towards a larger conspiracy at the behest of foreign hands which was being investigated.

There was a clear indication that the accused were a part of a team having larger motives to hamper the attempts of ISRO for manufacturing the cryogenic engine.

CBI registered a case against 18 persons for various offences, including criminal conspiracy, in connection with the arrest and detention of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was accused of spying in 1994.

He was alleged to have been involved in the transfer of certain confidential documents on India’s space programme to foreign countries by two scientists and four others, including two Maldivian women.

CBI had given a clean chit to Narayanan and said that the Kerala Police had fabricated the case. It said that top police officials in Kerala illegally arrested Narayanan and that the technology that the ex scientist was accused to have stolen and sold in 1994 did not exist at the time.

A three member committee was appointed by the apex court in October 2018 and the Kerala government was directed to give 50 lakh compensation to Narayanan for compelling him to undergo immense humiliation.

Terming the police action against Narayanan as a "psycho-pathological treatment", the top court had also said that his liberty and dignity, basic to his human rights, were jeopardised as he was taken into custody and, eventually, despite all the glory of the past, was compelled to face "cynical abhorrence".