Ex-Scientist Influenced ISRO Spy Case CBI Probe By Land Deals, Court Told

Former Kerala police officer S Vijayan on Wednesday alleged before the Kerala High Court that ex-ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan influenced the CBI investigation in the 1994 espionage case against him by entering into land deals worth crores with the then investigating officials of the agency.

Mr Vijayan, along with 17 other former Kerala police and Intelligence Bureau officials, is facing a CBI probe for allegedly falsely implicating Mr Narayanan and some others in the 1994 spying case.

On Wednesday, his lawyer told Justice R Narayana Pisharadi that he had placed before the trial court encumbrance certificates of several acres of land in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu which show Mr Narayanan or his son as power of attorney holders.

These lands were sold to the CBI officials, Mr Vijayan has alleged in the high court and contended that this material was sufficient for the trial court to order an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the scientist and the agency officials.

The high court, however, said that encumbrance certificates do not prove sale of land and asked Mr Vijayan to show the actual sale deeds.

The high court also said that sanction to prosecute would also be required for the trial court to order an investigation.

It further said that the trial court had only rejected Mr Vijayan's complaint and did not dismiss it and therefore, he can move a fresh complaint there along with all the relevant documents.

The high court said it will pass an order on admission of Mr Vijayan's plea and will issue notice to all the parties, including Mr Narayanan, as all of them have to be heard.

Mr Vijayan's lawyer told the high court that preparations were underway to obtain records of the sale deeds in relation to the encumbrance certificates.

Mr Vijayan and three others were granted anticipatory bail by the high court in August in the CBI's conspiracy case against them.

Besides the four, 14 others are named as accused in the case for various offences, including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and fabrication of evidence in connection with the arrest and detention of Narayanan in the espionage case.

Besides Narayanan, two Maldivian women -- Mariyam Rasheeda and Fouziyya Hassan -- were also arrested and detained in the case. The two women were jailed for over three years before being released.

The two Maldives nationals recently moved the CBI requesting it to place before the Supreme Court their claim for damages of Rs 2 crore from each of the 18 officers who are arrayed as accused in the conspiracy case being probed by the agency.

The women have urged the agency to place their claim for damages before the Supreme Court when it hears CBI's appeal against the Kerala High Court order granting anticipatory bail to the four accused - a former DGP of Gujarat, two former police officers of Kerala, and a retired intelligence official - in the conspiracy case being probed by the agency.

The agency, in its appeal, has sought cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to the four accused by the high court on August 13.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)