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The Kerala High Court today granted anticipatory bail to former police officers, S Vijayan and Thampi S Durga, retired IB Official PS Jayaprakash and ex Gujarat DGP RB Sreekumar accused of hatching a conspiracy to frame former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and others in the ISRO espionage case.

The order was passed by a single Judge bench of Justice Ashok Menon.

Earlier the Court on July 26 had granted interim anticipatory bail to the former Police Officers and  extended the interim order directing CBI not to arrest P.S. Jayaprakash, former Central intelligence officer and 11th accused in the case for two weeks.

Who is Nambi Narayanan?

 

S. Nambi Narayanan is a Padma Bhushan Awardee (2019) and a celebrated scientist, credited with playing a key and instrumental role in the development of the Vikas Engine, that was used for the first PSLV that India launched. As a senior official, he was also incharge of the division.

All of this changed on 21st November 1994, when Narayanan, along with D. Sasikumaran, was accused and subsequently arrested under charges of espionage after Mariam Rasheeda, a Maldivian National, allegedly made certain "confessions" that lead to the filing of a crime report under Sections 3 and 4 of The Official Secrets Act. The scientist was arrested during the Congress regime in Kerala.

Following this, Narayanan was remanded to 50 days custody  where he alleged, he was tortured by officers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He further alleged that the officials wanted him to make accusations against the top officers of ISRO and that two IB officials had asked him to implicate A. E. Muthunayagam, his boss and the then Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC). When he refused to comply, he was tortured until he collapsed.

Background of the Case before Kerala High Court:

On July 7, 2021 while opposing the bail pleas of the two former Kerala Police officers, the CBI had submitted that the officers had falsely implicated Nambi Narayanan in a "concocted case" which led to delay in development of India's cryogenic technology.

CBI said that the offences against the two accused were serious in nature as they both "played an active role and concocted an espionage case in pursuance of the conspiracy with the other accused in the FIR (registered by CBI) and other unknown persons".

 

"The nature and gravity of the offences, alleged against the petitioners (S Vijayan and Thampi S Durga Dutt) also had a big impact on the technological development of cryogenic technology, which was delayed due to false implication of Nambi Narayanan and news related to it," CBI noted.

It had further said that "since it is related to national interest and crime against a scientist has been committed, society at large has an interest in this case".

 

Litigious Chain:

On July 26, the Supreme Court division bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Sanjiv Khanna wrapped up the DK Jain Committee which was constituted to probe into illegal arrest of Scientist Nambi Narayanan by erring officials under the Kerala Government of 1994.

Court noted that the CBI had found reasons to file FIRs against the erring officials but clarified that the DK Jain committee report by itself would not be the basis for proceeding further in the matter. 

On April 15, A Full Bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Krishna Murari, directed the CBI to treat the Jain Committee Report as a preliminary Inquiry Report and proceed without public disclosure of the same. 
Narrating the sequence of events that led to an attempt of framing a distinguished scientist Nambi Narayanan, the Centre had urged for taking strict action against those police officials who had attempted to do so in light of recommendation, if any in the Report.

In April of 2021, after a span of almost two and a half years, the committee finally submitted its report, the details of the same remain unknown but the CBI has proceeded to file FIRs against the accused persons basis the findings of the Report.

In September 2018, the Supreme Court had held that the prosecution initiated by Kerala Police in the 1990's in relation to the ISRO Espionage Case was maliciously moved against the Scientist, causing him immense humiliation.

As a result of this, the Kerala Government was directed to pay compensation of Rs. 50 lac to Narayanan. Further to this, a three-member committee was constituted to probe into the illegal arrest of Narayanan.

 

Case Title: PS Jayaprakash v. Central Bureau of Investigation & Vijayan and And v. Central Bureau of Investigation