ni8mare
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Monday’s High Court verdict regarding the ISRO spy case has dealt a stinging blow to the UDF Government (secular party) which had chosen to close the file on a CBI recommendation for action against the three investigating police officers for “unprofessional conduct”.
And coming as it did on the 20th anniversary of the case, the verdict is a thumping yet painfully-delayed victory for former space scientist S Nambi Narayanan whose stand has now been doubly vindicated in a matter of days.
Only last week, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued notices to Siby Mathews, K K Joshua and S Vijayan - the three police officers in question - as to why action should not be recommended against them.
Concluding that the spy case was a fabricated tale, the CBI had sent its report to the Kerala Government recommending disciplinary action against the three officers in April 1996. Siby Mathews, present State Chief Information Commissioner and then DIG Crime had headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which probed the case. Joshua was DSP, CB-CID, at the time and Vijayan, an Inspector with the Special Branch.
The file concerned came up before the then Chief Minister E K Nayanar in December 1997. The Home Department preferred to close the file, but Nayanar chose to wait. His argument was that the spy case was up before the Supreme Court and it was advisable to wait until the apex court gave its verdict.
The Supreme Court verdict came in 1998, acquitting all the accused. In the normal course of things, the spy case should have been a closed chapter then, and the state government should have acted upon the CBI recommendation. For 15 years, nothing happened.
Then, 43 days after it came to power, the present UDF Government - on June 29, 2011, issued orders closing the file by deciding not to take any action against the officers. The rationale; 15 years had passed and ‘’it is not proper or legal to take disciplinary action’’ after the lapse of such a long period of time. Nambi Narayanan moved the court against this decision. The hearing on it was completed on April 8, 2014, and judgment reserved. The verdict that has come six months later marks the end of one of several court battles fought by Nambi Narayanan in these 20 years.
It is significant that October 20, 2014, marks the 20th anniversary of the arrest of Mariam Rasheeda, a Maldivian woman, for overstaying her visa period. It was at the Vanchiyoor station that the arrest was registered on October 20, 1994. Over the next month, the arrest was linked to a spy ring and ISRO scientists Nambi Narayanan and D Sasikumaran were arrested on charges of leaking crucial ISRO data.
The case shattered lives and wrecked careers. Even the then Chief Minister K Karunakaran had been forced to step down, allegedly owing to a conspiracy within the Congress.
ISRO Spy Case: HC Verdict a Severe Blow to State Government -The New Indian Express
And coming as it did on the 20th anniversary of the case, the verdict is a thumping yet painfully-delayed victory for former space scientist S Nambi Narayanan whose stand has now been doubly vindicated in a matter of days.
Only last week, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued notices to Siby Mathews, K K Joshua and S Vijayan - the three police officers in question - as to why action should not be recommended against them.
Concluding that the spy case was a fabricated tale, the CBI had sent its report to the Kerala Government recommending disciplinary action against the three officers in April 1996. Siby Mathews, present State Chief Information Commissioner and then DIG Crime had headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which probed the case. Joshua was DSP, CB-CID, at the time and Vijayan, an Inspector with the Special Branch.
The file concerned came up before the then Chief Minister E K Nayanar in December 1997. The Home Department preferred to close the file, but Nayanar chose to wait. His argument was that the spy case was up before the Supreme Court and it was advisable to wait until the apex court gave its verdict.
The Supreme Court verdict came in 1998, acquitting all the accused. In the normal course of things, the spy case should have been a closed chapter then, and the state government should have acted upon the CBI recommendation. For 15 years, nothing happened.
Then, 43 days after it came to power, the present UDF Government - on June 29, 2011, issued orders closing the file by deciding not to take any action against the officers. The rationale; 15 years had passed and ‘’it is not proper or legal to take disciplinary action’’ after the lapse of such a long period of time. Nambi Narayanan moved the court against this decision. The hearing on it was completed on April 8, 2014, and judgment reserved. The verdict that has come six months later marks the end of one of several court battles fought by Nambi Narayanan in these 20 years.
It is significant that October 20, 2014, marks the 20th anniversary of the arrest of Mariam Rasheeda, a Maldivian woman, for overstaying her visa period. It was at the Vanchiyoor station that the arrest was registered on October 20, 1994. Over the next month, the arrest was linked to a spy ring and ISRO scientists Nambi Narayanan and D Sasikumaran were arrested on charges of leaking crucial ISRO data.
The case shattered lives and wrecked careers. Even the then Chief Minister K Karunakaran had been forced to step down, allegedly owing to a conspiracy within the Congress.
ISRO Spy Case: HC Verdict a Severe Blow to State Government -The New Indian Express
