ISRO spy case: SC order to cover probe against former Kerala cops, IB officials

The Supreme Court's order for a high-level probe in the 1994 ISRO spy case is likely to cover the role of the then Kerala cops and officials of the Intelligence Bureau who were involved in the investigation leading to the arrest of scientist S Nambi Narayanan and others by falsely implicating them.

Narayanan had accused the state police and the IB officials of torturing and extractng statements from him.

Former DGP Siby Mathews and two retired superintendents of police K K Joshua and S Vijayan were later held responsible by the CBI for the scientist's illegal arrest.

Narayanan has also been on record alleging that R B Sreekumar, a former DGP of Gujarat, was earlier a part of the IB leadership that had "cooked up" the ISRO spy case.

Virtually vindicating Narayanan's stand today, an apex court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud appointed a three-member committee headed by its former judge, Justice D K Jain, saying "appropriate steps need to be taken against the erring officials."
The CBI report had said that "on being confronted with the statements made by them before Kerala Police as well as IB officials, the accused took the plea that the statements were made on the suggested lines under duress."