The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recently filed a charge sheet against five individuals in connection with the alleged framing of space scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage  ISRO spy case. The names of those charged have not been disclosed.

On April 15, 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the high-level committee report on the conduct of implicated police officials in the 1994 espionage case to be handed over to the CBI, according to the news agency PTI.

ISRO spy case
Image Source: IAS Exam

The controversy began in October 1994 with the arrest of Maldivian national Rasheeda in Thiruvananthapuram for allegedly obtaining secret ISRO rocket engine drawings to sell to Pakistan.

The investigation expanded, resulting in the arrest of Nambi Narayanan, then the director of the cryogenic project at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), along with ISRO deputy director D Sasikumaran and Fousiya Hasan, a Maldivian friend of Rasheeda.

However, following a subsequent CBI investigation, the allegations were found to be unfounded.

In September 2018, the Supreme Court strongly condemned the actions of the police, characterizing their treatment of Narayanan as "psychopathological."

The apex court stated that Narayanan's "liberty and dignity," fundamental to his human rights, were compromised when he was taken into custody and, despite his celebrated past, was eventually forced to confront "cynical abhorrence."

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