CBI to probe into wrongful arrest of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan

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The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the report submitted by Justice DK Jain Committee regarding the erring officials who implicated scientist Dr Nambi Narayanan in the ISRO Espionage case be forwarded to the CBI for further action.  A Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar took on record   Justice Jain’s report and directed the CBI that it was at liberty to decide on further investigation. The CBI is now to report to the Court on its findings within three months.</p>
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The Court also directed that Copy of Justice Jain’s report shall not be published or circulated in public. “The report indicates something serious, thus, appropriate action will have to be taken on the report. The report referred to several circumstances and events. They will have to be investigated thoroughly,” the SC bench observed.</p>
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The report submitted by the committee, identified the police officials who were responsible for the ISRO scientist’s arrest. </p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/india-news/nambi-narayanan-the-spy-who-wasn-t-inspires-thrilling-biopic-78545.html">Nambi Narayanan, the spy who wasn’t, inspires thrilling biopic</a></strong></p>
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Reacting to the SC’s decision for the CBI probe, the former scientist Nambi Narayanan told <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://indianarrative.com/&source=gmail&ust=1618582768005000&usg=AFQjCNE1eADehP20xX-INf6K-jvfwPl1hA" href="http://indianarrative.com/" target="_blank">indianarrative.com</a> that he is happy people who conspired against him and his colleagues, would “face the legal actions.” He pointed out that” right from the beginning, I have been saying that it is a false and fabricated case and some officers of the Kerala police conspired against me. Why did they do it, it must be probed.” </p>
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The ISRO spy case, which hit the headlines in 1994, pertained to allegations of transfer of certain confidential documents on India’s space programme to foreign countries by two scientists and four others, including two Maldivian women.</p>
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Narayanan, the then director of cryogenic project at ISRO, was arrested along with deputy director D. Sasikumaran and the Indian representative of a Russian space agency, K Chandrasekhar in December 1994.  S K Sharma, a labour contractor and two Maldivian women – Fouzia Hasan and Rasheeda – were also arrested. While Narayan, Kumaran and Chandrashekhar were out on bail after two months, Fouzia and Rasheeda were still in jail. </p>
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Before his arrest, Narayanan was playing a critical role in the development of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), which required cryogenic engines, which the Russians, facing US sanctions, had declined to provide. Working in the cryogenics division at ISRO, Narayanan was among the first to foresee the need for liquid fuelled engines for ISRO’s future civilian space programmes.</p>
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The case was first investigated by the state police and later handed over to the CBI, which found no espionage as was alleged to have taken place.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/culture-news/back-story-s-nambi-narayanan-the-man-behind-the-movie-rocketry-the-nambi-effect-78710.html">S. Nambi Narayanan: The man behind the movie Rocketry</a></strong></p>
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What followed was a long legal battle that ended in May 1996. The CBI finally filed a report before the chief judicial magistrate saying that the espionage case was false and that there was no evidence to back the charges. The court accepted the report and discharged all the accused but the CPI(M)-led government that had just come to power decided to play its own game and ordered further investigation till finally, in May 1998, the Supreme Court quashed the Kerala government’s move for a fresh probe.</p>
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The case also had its political fallout, with a section in the Congress targeting the then Chief Minister, the late K. Karunakaran over the issue, which eventually led to his resignation. The scientists were arrested when the Congress was heading the government in Kerala. </p>
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The Kerala governments have since protected the rogue police officers and have dragged their feet in paying the compensation ordered by the High Court and the National Human Rights Commission. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in its probe, had held that the then top police officials in Kerala were responsible for Narayanan's illegal arrest.</p>
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Narayanan approached the Supreme Court in 2017 against a Kerala High Court judgement that said "no action needed to be taken" against former DGP Siby Mathews, who was then heading the SIT probe team, two retired superintendents of police, KK Joshua and S Vijayan, and the then Deputy Director, Intelligence Bureau, R.B. Shreekumar, who was later held responsible by the CBI for the scientist's illegal arrest.</p>
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Awarding a compensation Rs 50 lakh, which was to be paid by the state government, the top court had said it was being given to compensate for his suffering, anxiety and the treatment meted out to him, the court accepted Narayanan's plea that the authorities, who were responsible for causing such a "harrowing effect" on his mind, should face "consequences". The Court then on September 14, 2018 appointed the three-member panel headed by its former judge DK Jain who had submitted the report in a sealed envelope on April 5.  </p>
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Earlier this month, a trailer of a multilingual film ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ was released. The trailer presents Nambi Narayanan (played by Madhavan) as an ‘arrogant genius’ who wants to put India on the map when it comes to the commercial satellite market. The rushes showcase how his patriotism became the cause of his downfall. </p>
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Now life has come to the full circle for Nambi Narayan. Praising the work of Narayanan, former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair had said, “Had he continued, ISRO would have benefited by his expertise greatly because he was a top-notch scientist and specialist in the cryogenic propulsion system.” </p>