The Supreme Court on Friday appointed a three-member panel headed by its former judge to probe the "harrowing" arrest and alleged torture of former space scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 'ISRO spy scandal' that turned out to be fake.
A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also awarded Mr. Narayanan Rs. 50 lakh in compensation for the "mental cruelty" he suffered all these years. The reprieve comes almost a quarter of century after Mr. Narayanan, a top scientist in the ISRO before his arrest and detention, began his legal battles in various forums for his honour and justice.
The three-member panel will be headed by retired Supreme Court judge D.K. Jain and will have one officer each from Central and Kerala governments. The committee will explore "ways and means" to bring justice to the former space scientist besides probing the officers who caused the "harrowing" incidents. The Centre would take care of the committee's facilities and expenses.
Chief Justice Misra, who authored the verdict for the Bench, referred to how Mr. Narayanan had argued himself in court, saying mere compensation in money was not enough for the "harrowing" incidents of his life.
Mr. Narayanan has accused the Kerala Police and the IB of torturing and extracting statements from him.
In his petition, Mr. Narayanan, who was discharged in the case, had arraigned as parties former Kerala ADGP Siby Mathews, the State government, K.K. Joshwa and S. Vijayan, both of whom had retired in senior position in the police.
The former ISRO scientist, who is in his seventies, had approached the apex court after a Division Bench of the State High Court refused his plea.
In his petition, Mr. Narayanan had contended that the High Court “failed to appreciate the real undercurrent that passed through the mind of the apex court, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the single judge of the High court in their verdict and on untenable reasons, quashed the order of the single judge.”
Challenging the legality of the High Court Division Bench order, Mr. Narayanan said it was “bad in law”. He had argued that the order “would only encourage the unlawful action and mindset on the part of the Kerala police to harass innocent persons for extraneous considerations”
The apex court in 1998 had directed the State government to pay cost of Rs. one lakh to Mr. Narayanan who was discharged in the case.
Later, Mr. Narayanan approached NHRC claiming compensation against the State government for mental agony and torture suffered by him. The NHRC, after hearing both sides and taking into account the apex court judgment of April 29, 1998, had awarded him an interim compensation of Rs. 10 lakh on March 14, 2001.