The Hindu : National : Court quashes NHRC order to pay relief in spy case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 01, 2006

National

National

Court quashes NHRC order to pay relief in spy case

Staff Reporter

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday quashed an order of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the State Government to pay Rs. 10 lakh to Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Thiruvananthapuram. Justice K.M. Joseph ordered that the complaint from him be remitted to the NHRC, and directed it to consider the question of maintainability within four months.

The payment was meant as an interim relief for torture and mental agony he underwent during the investigation of what was billed as the "ISRO espionage case." The case, involving two Maldivian women, two ISRO scientists including Mr. Narayanan, a Bangalore-based labour contractor for ISRO and the Indian representative of the Russian space agency Glavkosmos, surfaced in 1994.

CBI conclusion

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) concluded that the espionage allegation was false. A committee of ISRO scientists, constituted at the CBI's instance, found that no vital document was missing from ISRO.

The NHRC ordered the payment in September 1999 on a complaint by Mr. Narayanan following a Supreme Court verdict in the case.

In a writ petition the Government had pointed out that the NHRC order was arbitrary, without jurisdiction and violative of the principles of natural justice. Adequate opportunity was not given to the police personnel who were the accused, or the Government, to explain their stand.

The allegations of violation of human rights were baseless and untrue, it argued.

Ordering relief, the NHRC had observed that there was "gross violation of human rights of a reputed scientist whose long and distinguished career in space research had been tarnished, apart from physical and mental torture to which he and his family had been subjected by the police."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National