SC reserves verdict on former ISRO scientist’s plea for probe into framing

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New Delhi,   The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a petition by former ISRO senior scientist, S. Nambi Narayanan, seeking probe for being allegedly falsely implicated in an espionage case by the Kerala Police and other agencies.

Nambi Narayanan had moved the top court callegnging the Kerala High Court judgment upholding the state government’s decision not to take action against the officials who had falsely implicated him in the case.

Reserving the order, the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M.Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y.Chandrachud asked all the parties including the petitioner, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and others to file their written submissions within a week.

During the course of the hearing, the bench indicated to the CBI that it may be asked to pay compensation to the scientist.

However, Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee, who appeared for the investigating agency, wondered how can CBI be asked to pay compensation when there wasn’t even a single allegation against the investigating agency.

Resisting the indication that CBI may be asked to pay compensation, he asked the court to order a court monitored investigation into the entire case.

The Kerala government had decided against the recommendation by the probe agency to take action against the officers allegedly involved in the framing of Nambi Narayanan and a single judge bench of the Kerala High Court ruled against the decision. The single judge’s order was however reversed by the division bench.

Nambi Narayanan moved the Supreme Court against the order of the division bench.

The top court had during the hearing of the matter on May 8 had indicated that it may increase the compensation to Nambi Narayanan, who was falsely implicated in an espionage case by the Kerala Police and other agencies.

Paid compensation of around Rs 11 lakh, he has filed a suit seeking Rs 1 crore as damages.

Nambi Narayanan had told the court that he was seeking a fresh probe as he wanted to know the motive behind the case which caused a 15-year delay in the development of cryogenic engine, resulting in a loss of billions of dollars to India.

Having studied in the Princeton University and worked with National Aeronautics and Space Administration, he came to India to work with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), refusing the offer of US citizenship, his lawyer had said.

Nambi Narayanan had earlier told the court that his dream was that India becomes a space power.

Lawyer C. Unikrishnan said Narayanan was working on a cryogenic engine when he was arrested on November 30, 1994, in a fabricated case and jailed for 50 days.