Kochi, January 14: The 1994 ISRO espionage case was fabricated and the arrest of Nambi Narayan was illegal, the CBI has told the Kerala High Court on Friday.
The CBI further contended that the case is a serious matter involving national security and foreign powers were involved in the conspiracy to fabricate the case against eminent scientists of ISRO.
Current US President Joe Biden was Senator in early 1990s. He played a crucial role in denying India the Cryogenic engine technology that powers the GSLV series of heavy-lift rockets.
Biden believed that India should not be given Cryogenic engine technology as it could use it in missile mission.
“The Cryogenic technology can be used in missiles and the denial was on that ground,” Additional Solicitor General submitted in the court.
ASG further made a startling revelation when he said, “Foreign powers did not want India to develop Cryogenic engine technology. Hence, the project was sabotaged and derailed by fabricating cases against Indian scientist.”
The ASG made this submission while opposing the anticipatory bail application of the first accused S. Vijayan, second accused Thampi S. Durgadutt, fourth accused Siby Mathew, seventh accused R. B. Sreekumar, eleventh accused P. S. Jayaprakash and 17th accused V. K. Maini.
According to the ASG, Sreekumar, who was at that time Deputy Director of IB in Thiruvananthapuram, played an active role in the wrongful detention of the victims.
“IB had no authority to interrogate Nambi Narayan when he was in police custody,. Hence it was an unauthorised interrogation without court’s permission,” the ASG contended.
Nambi Narayan and another former ISRO scientist Sasikumaram were tortured and pressurised by investigators to falsely implicate Muthunayagam, the then Director of ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, the Additional Solicitor General added.
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