Nambi Narayanan

Nambi Narayanan

• S. Nambi Narayanan is an former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist. He was in-charge of the cryogenics division.
• In 1994, he was falsely implicated in the ISRO spy case for selling secret documents on India's space programme to two Maldivian women. He was one among seven others who were accused. Others included two Maldivian women, Mariam Rasheeda and Fauzia Hassan, senior scientist D. Sasikumaran, trade representative of a Russian space agency K. Chandrasekharan, his friend a Bangalore-based contractor S.K. Sharma, and the IPS officer Raman Srivastva.
• He alleged that he was illegally detained and tortured in custody by officials of the Kerala Police and Intelligence Bureau (IB).
• In 1994, Centre Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the investigation.
• In 1996, CBI concluded that the allegation of espionage was false. CBI had sent a report to the Centre and State government's recommending "necessary action" against State investigation officers and senior IB officials.
• In 1998, Supreme Court exonerated them of all charges and passed strictures against the Kerala Government.
• In 2001, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) ordered the Kerala State Government to pay him a compensation of  Rs. 10 lakh for implicating the scientists in a phony case.
• In 2012, On an appeal the Kerala High Court ordered the government to pay Rs. 10 lakh compensation for 15 years of nightmare.
• In June 29, 2011, the State government had issued an order dropping all further proceedings against the police officers.
• In 2014, The Kerala High Court quashed a government decision not to take any action against the State Chief Information Commissioner and former Additional Director General of Police Siby Mathews and former police officers, including the then circle inspector (Special Branch) S. Vijayan and the then Superintendent of Police K.K. Joshua, who had conducted the initial investigation into the ISRO espionage case.

• ISRO spy case is also known for the suspected role of former PM P. V. Narasimha Rao, CIA, Kerala Congress factions, Kerala Police factions and journalists. The case also had political overtones as veteran Congress leader Karunakaran who had to resign from the post of Chief Minister of Kerala in the wake of the case after a section of party leaders came out against him and accused him of shielding an officer allegedly involved in the case.