The long battle of law fought by the victims in the sensational fabricated case still seems to be “attractive” in its further developments. The ISRO spy case that began in November 1994, alleging the ISRO scientists Nambi Narayanan and D. Sasikumaran sold the space secrets related to cryogenic engines to two Maldivian women, alleged as the intelligence officers form Maldives, Mariam Rashida and Fousia Hassan for accumulating assets literally shook the Indian politics and society that resulted in chaos and even forced the then Chief Minister of Kerala, K. Karunakaran to resign in February 27 1995.
The alleged scientists were labeled as traitors who sold the space secret that was a shame for the whole country and its national security and probe against them by the Kerala Police’s Special Investigation team and Intelligence bureau was initiated. The family members of the scientists were also not spared by the media as they had faced new stories cooked up by print and visual media even before any final decision by judicial authorities, they were literally ostracized from the society. The vernacular dailies to international news media, really celebrated the stories describing the methods adopted by the scientists in selling the secrets for enormous amount and their illegal connection with the Maldivian women. Nambi Narayanan was arrested and was put in the jail for 50 days. The scientists were tortured in many methods in the custody of Kerala Police’s Special Investigation team headed by the team Officer Sibi Mathew.
Soon the charges were found as the concoction of media as they were pressurized to play their part in the political games. In May 1996, the CBI found the charges were fabricated and in April 1998, Supreme Court dismissed the petition of false accusation against Nambi Narayanan in 1999, National Human rights Commission directed Govt of Kerala to pay compensation of Rs 1crore for damaging his reputation. In the year 2012 the Kerala High court had ordered Rs 10 lakhs on an appeal filed by him to implement the order of NHRC. As per the report dated November 2012 Govt of Kerala hadn’t paid the Rs 10 lakhs to him.
The present stage of this sensational case is that on the writ petition filed against the then investigating officer Sibi Mathew by Nambi Narayanan, The division bench of Kerala High court observed that no action shall be taken against the investigation officers for a matter that prolonged for more than 15 years.
by Dhanya.R