26 Years After He Was Accused Of Being A Spy, Former ISRO Scientist Nambi Narayanan Gets Rs 1.3 Cr Compensation
The story of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan is somewhat unparalleled in Indian history. The man who once led ISRO's cryogenics division would have gone on to become one of the top rocket scientists the country has produced.
Instead, in the past over two decades, Narayanan spent most of his life fighting legal cases to clear his name of allegations he never committed.
In 1994 Narayanan who was then leading the development of the liquid technology ¨C a key technology in rocket propulsion that is being deployed in GSLV was arrested in the infamous ISRO espionage case.
He and four others were arrested on charges of leaking vital defence secrets including drawings of ISRO¡¯s Vikas engine and cryogenic technology to Pakistan through two alleged Maldivian intelligence officers, Mariam Rasheeda and Fauzia Hassan.
He was humiliated, dragged away in a police jeep and tortured in custody for days.?
The charges against him were dismissed in 1996 by CBI and he was declared non-guilty in 1998 and awarded him a compensation of Rs 1 lakh.
Since then he has been on a battle to restore his tarnished image and get due compensation for what he had to go through.
In September 2018, the Supreme Court, in a plea by Narayanan ordered that he should be granted a compensation of Rs 50 lakh.
The SC had held that he was "arrested unnecessarily, harassed and subjected to mental cruelty", besides the Rs 10 lakh recommended by the National Human Rights Commission.
Narayanan had moved the apex court challenging the Kerala high court order which said no action was required to be taken against former DGP Siby Mathews and two retired Superintendents of Police KK Joshua and S Vijayan, who were later held responsible by the CBI for his illegal arrest.
Narayanan later moved a sub-court in Kerala for settling the case and seeking enhanced damages for his illegal arrest and harassment.
The court had ordered that a compensation of Rs 1.3 crore should be given to the 78-year-old.
On Tuesday Kerala government handed over Rs 1.30 crore compensation to the former ISRO scientist.
