Nambi Narayanan-ISRO Spy Case: CBI Opposes Anticipatory Bail Pleas Of 4 Accused, Emphasises Custodial Interrogation

The CBI had registered the case against the 18 accused in connection with the arrest and detention of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 espionage case.

Nambi Narayanan (File Photo)

Kochi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has objected to the anticipatory bail pleas made by three former police officers of Kerala and a retired official of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in the Kerala High Court in connection with the ISRO conspiracy case.

As per the central bureau, foreign intelligence agencies like ISI, Pakistan, had plotted to derail the development of cryogenic technology in India, and the accused needed to be interrogated to find out the "brain" behind the operation.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for the CBI, made the submission before Justice Ashok Menon, stating that the case was a serious one that would affect national security.

The ASG contended that the accused including police officers S Vijayan, Thampi S Durga Dutta, and R B Sreekumar and retired IB official P S Jayaprakash, should not be granted any relief because the investigation continues to be at a nascent stage.

If anticipatory bail was granted, the accused would not disclose anything and crucial evidence would be lost, he contended.

"We won't be able to find out who were the brains behind the conspiracy," SV Raju added as quoted by news agency PTI.

The accused, on the other hand, refuted the claim by the CBI and responding that the central agency was coming out with a new story of ISI's involvement when it did not find anything in its probe in 1994-95.

They argued that the CBI was making allegations without any material to support the charges and that custodial interrogation would not serve any purpose.

The court has listed the matter for August 11, extending the interim protection from arrest granted to the four till then.

However, the court has stated that this relief does not preclude the four accused from cooperating with the CBI for its probe. The case was registered against 18 accused, including the four, for various offences such as criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and fabrication of evidence.

About The Case

The central agency had registered the case under the Indian Penal Code against the 18 in connection with the arrest and detention of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 espionage case.

In the hearing that went on for more than two hours on Friday, the lawyers for the accused denied any custodial torture or harassment of Narayanan and the two Maldivian women (Mariyam Rasheeda and Fouziyya Hassan) who were also arrested and detained in the 1994 case.

The lawyers argued that the report of the Supreme Court-appointed committee which was headed by Justice (retired) D K Jain, cannot be the sole basis for the CBI investigation.

It was further contended that even the top court had recently said the CBI cannot solely rely on the report of the committee and it has to collect evidence on its own to substantiate the conspiracy angle to the case.

Responding to this, the CBI stated that the Supreme court had held that Narayanan suffered mental torture, harassment, and humiliation as a result of the allegations of spying and had awarded him Rs 50 lakh as compensation.

Counsel for Narayanan also opposed the anticipatory bail pleas of the four accused while the High Court said it would hear on the next date the arguments of advocate Prasad Gandhi on behalf of the two Maldivian women.

The espionage case involved allegations of transfer of certain confidential documents on the space programme of India to foreign countries by two scientists and four others, including the two Maldivians.

The CBI, in its investigation at that time, had maintained that top police officials in Kerala were responsible for Nambi Narayanan's arrest which the agency termed as illegal.

(With Agency Inputs)