1994 ISRO espionage case: Kerala HC grants anticipatory bail to former Gujarat ADGP & others

Kochi: Kerala High Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to former Police and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers, including former Gujarat ADGP RB Sreekumar and former Kerala DGP Siby Mathews, in a case pertaining to the alleged framing of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage case.

A single bench of Justice K Babu granted anticipatory bail to former Kerala police officers S Vijayan and Thampi S Durga Dutt, and retired intelligence official PS Jayaprakash, with conditions.

CBI interrogation on Jan 27

The high court held a fresh hearing on the bail applications of the five accused after its earlier order, granting them pre-arrest bail in 2021, was set aside by the Supreme Court in December 2022.

The Supreme Court referred the matter back to the high court, observing that the previous order was passed without considering certain aspects.

"The accused must appear before the CBI for interrogation on January 27 between 10.00 am and 11.00 am. They shall continue to appear before the interrogating officer on Mondays and Fridays for a further period of two weeks. They shall continue to report before the investigating officer for interrogation as and when required. If arrested, they shall be released on bail on executing bonds for Rs 1 lakh each with two solvent sureties each for the like sum," said the HC on Friday, laying out the conditions for granting anticipatory bail.

"The accused cannot leave India without the permission of a jurisdictional court. They shall not influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidence. They shall fully corporate with the investigation subjecting themselves to deemed custody as observed in Gurbachan Singh and Sushila Aggarwal cases for the purpose of discovery or identification if any," the single bench ruled further.