Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 2: As part of the conspiracy to frame former Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientist Nambi Narayanan in an espionage case, the Supreme Court on Friday revoked the anticipatory bail granted by the Kerala High Court to former police/Intelligence Bureau officers RB Sreekumar, PS Jayaprakash, Thampi S Durga Dutt, and Vijayan.
Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar’s bench remanded the case to the Kerala High Court for further consideration of the arguments.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a petition challenging a Kerala High Court decision that had benefited the accused.
“The order of the High Court in the anticipatory bail pleas are quashed and set aside. The matter is remitted to the High Court to be decided afresh in light of our observations. The High Court is to decide the matter preferably within 4 weeks,” the apex court ordered.
The accused must cooperate with the investigation in order to avoid being arrested for five weeks starting today, according to the court’s order. According to the Supreme Court, the interim protection won’t have any bearing on how the High Court rules on the application for anticipatory bail.
The four defendants in the case received anticipatory bail from the Kerala High Court in August of last year.
In September 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the Kerala police’s mid-1990s prosecution of Narayanan in the ISRO espionage case was malicious and mandated that Narayanan receive compensation in the amount of Rs. 50 lakh.
The Central government later asked the Court to take notice of the report produced by the Jain committee after the Court established a three-member panel headed by retired judge Justice DK Jain to determine who was responsible for the alleged plot.
ALSO READ: Moose Wala murder mastermind Goldy Brar detained in California
As a result, the Supreme Court sent the report to the CBI because it believed the committee’s findings merited a full inquiry. The CBI then launched a criminal investigation into a number of former law enforcement officers who were allegedly complicit in the police framing.
The CBI filed a First Information Report (FIR) marked as classified in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thiruvananthapuram, in July of this year after reviewing the Jain panel report.
Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna of the Supreme Court had mandated on July 26, 2021, that following the filing of FIRs, the CBI must gather evidence independently and not “merely” rely on the Justice DK Jain Committee’s report, which had previously looked into the alleged police cover-up.
Later, the four suspects requested relief from the Kerala High Court, which was granted.
During the appeal’s hearing before the apex court. The CBI’s Additional Solicitor General, SV Raju, argued that the High Court’s order prevents custodial interrogation, even if it may be necessary in this case.
