ISRO conspiracy case: Kerala HC extends interim bail of accused

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has extended the interim bail protection for three former Kerala police officers - R B Sreekumar, S Vijayan, and Thampi S DurgaDutt - and a retired IB official, P S Jayaprakash charged in the ISRO conspiracy case. The individuals will have protection from arrest for another day.

Justice Ashok Menon extended the bail after the counsel for CBI told the court that an Additional Solicitor General would be appearing in the matter. The CBI had opposed the anticipatory bail pleas.

14 other individuals are named as accused in the case registered by the CBI. They are charged with criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, and fabrication of evidence in connection with the arrest and detention of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 espionage case.

The ISRO scientist, two Maldivian intelligence officers - MariyamRasheeda and Fouziyya Hassan, and another ISRO official were falsely implicated, arrested, and detained in 1994. They were framed for leaking vital documents related to space projects. The false implication of Narayan in a "concocted case" led to a delay in the development of India's cryogenic technology.

A three-member committee headed by the former top court judge Justice (retd) D K Jain, was appointed by the Supreme Court in 2018 to find the actual culprits. The CBI probe found that the top officials in Kerala were responsible for the illegal arrests.

The court will hear the matter tomorrow.