SC orders Kerala to pay ₹50 lakh to exIsro scientist
SPY CASE Nambi Narayanan was falsely implicated by the police NEW DELHI:
Twenty-four years after he was falsely implicated as a spy by Kerala police, the Supreme Court on Friday restored the honour of former ISRO scientist S Nambi Narayanan (76) as it ordered the state to pay him ₹50 lakh as compensation for compelling him to “undergo immense humiliation.”
A bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra invoked the public law remedy and said the “liberty and dignity of the appellant (Narayanan), which are basic to his human rights were jeopardised as he was taken into custody and, eventually, despite all the glory of the past, was compelled to face cynical abhorrence.” “The entire prosecution initiated by the State police was malicious and it has caused tremendous harassment and immeasurable anguish to the appellant,” the court said.
The bench also gave liberty to Narayanan to proceed with a civil defamation suit where he can claim more compensation. Kerala has to pay Nayaranan within eight weeks. The order came on Narayanan’s petition demanding compensation from the State for the malicious prosecution launched against him.
Arrested in January 1994 on charges of spying by Kerala police in infamous ISRO spy scandal, Narayanan was later given a clean chit by the CBI, which took over the case on state government’s order. CBI’s closure report was accepted by a magistrate in May 1996. Although the state had attempted to re-investigate the case, it was stopped from doing so by the SC where Narayanan had challenged the move.
“There can be no scintilla of doubt that the appellant, a successful scientist having national reputation, has been compelled to undergo immense humiliation. The lackadaisical attitude of the State police to arrest anyone and put him in police custody has made the appellant to suffer the ignominy. The dignity of a person gets shocked when psycho-pathological treatment is meted out to him,” the court said as it held that a Constitutional court must take recourse of public law to compensate Narayanan.
The scientist’s arrest was a violation of his fundamental right, promised under Article 21 of the Constitution, the court said. CJI Misra’s bench also accepted the scientist’s request to hold an enquiry and take appropriate action against the errant police officers who reportedly framed him in the espionage case. A three-member committee headed by former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice DK Jain was entrusted with the task. Both Centre and Kerala have to nomi- nate an officer. Centre will bear the cost and provide logistical facilities to the committee, court said, rejecting Kerala’s opposition to having the panel.
The Kerala police had arrested Mariam Rasheeda -- a Maldivian woman on October 20, 1994 for overstaying in India after the expiry of her visa. It turned into a sex-spy scandal allegedly involving two senior ISRO scientists, some businessmen and others. They were accused of passing on ISRO’s cryogenic program secrets to the women who in turn supplied the same to Russia and Pakistan’s ISI. In 1996, the CBI probe cleared all the accused. It concluded that the entire scandal was fabricated by Kerala police.
IN 2001, the NHRC had ordered a compensation of ₹10 lakh. Meanwhile, the government had decided not to take any disciplinary action against its police officers. However, this notification was quashed by a single judge of Kerala HC. A division bench of the HC set aside the single bench’s order and held that CBI’s closure report was an opinion.
Narayanan approached the top court and pleaded that the prosecution had a catastrophic effect on his service career.
Kerala, however, opposed and maintained there was sufficient evidence indicating the involvement of the scientist. It even accused Narayanan of preparing to leave the country and in the light of the evidence against him. CBI, however, supported Narayanan and insisted there were no incriminating records against him. Kerala said the CBI’s finding was unacceptable and required a probe.