ISRO espionage case | Centre urges Supreme Court to accept panel report on Nambi Narayanan frame-up

NEW DELHI

The Centre has put its weight behind a report filed by a three-member committee chaired by former Supreme Court decide, Justice D.K. Jain, tasked to unravel rogue officers answerable for the notorious Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) “frame-up” case of 1994 that destroyed the life and fame of Nambi Narayanan, one of many nation’s distinguished area scientists.

The Centre has utilized to the highest court docket, urging it to accept on document the inquiry report submitted by the Justice Jain Committee and take appropriate motion on the ideas made in opposition to the “erring officials”. The court docket could take up the case subsequent week.

Mr. Narayanan, in his petition earlier than the Supreme Court, had arraigned former Kerala ADGP Siby Mathews and former senior police officers K.K. Joshwa and S. Vijayan.

The Supreme Court constituted the Justice Jain Committee in September 2018 to discover “ways and means to take appropriate steps against the erring officials”.

The court docket had allowed the Central authorities and the Kerala authorities to nominate one officer every to the committee. The former appointed high official D.K. Prasad, and the latter appointed former Additional Chief Secretary V.S. Senthil.

At the time of his arrest on November 30, 1994, Mr. Narayanan was working on cryogenic engine expertise at premier area company ISRO. Police investigators had accused him of passing on to Pakistan paperwork and drawings of ISRO relating to Viking/Vikas engine expertise, cryogenic engine expertise and PSLV flight knowledge/drawings.

‘Criminal frame-up’

The Supreme Court had dismissed the case in 2018 as a felony frame-up primarily based on “some kind fancy or notion”. It mentioned Mr. Narayanan’s profession bought “smothered”. The scientist himself had mentioned the prosecution launched by the Kerala police had a “catastrophic effect” on his profession and private life, moreover setting again technological development in area analysis.

The CBI, which took over the probe from the Kerala police, had promptly filed a closure report in 1996, however Mr. Narayanan had fought on to convey his accusers to justice.

The high court docket, in its 2018 judgment, had known as the remedy meted out to the scientist whereas he was in custody as “psycho-pathological”.

Though it had ordered the Kerala authorities to pay Mr. Narayanan ₹50 lakh as compensation, the court docket mentioned mere cash was not sufficient to make up for the torture the scientist had endured for twenty-four years. An inquiry was known as for into the circumstances behind the “frame-up”.