Nambi Narayanan
Nambi Narayanan | |
---|---|
Occupation | Aerospace engineer |
Spouse | Meena Narayanan |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Subbiah Arunan (son-in-law) |
Awards | Padma Bhushan (2019)[3] |
Nambi Narayanan (born 12 December 1941)
In 1994, he was arrested on
Early and personal life
Nambi Narayanan was born on 12 December 1941 in the house of
Career
After studying mechanical engineering in
ISRO espionage charges
On 30 November 1994, Narayanan was arrested as part of an investigation of alleged espionage, by a team of
Narayanan spent 50 days in jail. He claims that officials from the Intelligence Bureau, who initially interrogated him, wanted him to make false accusations against the top brass of
In April 1996, before the 1996 Indian general election, CBI submitted a closure report,[18] saying that there was no espionage and that the testimonies of suspects were coerced by torture.[9]: 1 In a previous order in a related case, Kerala High Court, which had seen the videos of interrogation, had dismissed allegations of torture and made critical comments about CBI's failure to follow all the leads.[9] Amid attention on gaps in the CBI closure report, a challenge of the report in Kerala High Court by S. Vijayan, a police officer[18] and continuing political pressure, the Kerala government revoked the permission granted previously to CBI to investigate the case and ordered the Kerala police to take it up again. But a Supreme Court bench stopped it in April 1998 saying that "the CBI found that no case had been made out" and ordered the Kerala government to pay ₹1 lakh (equivalent to ₹4.5 lakh or US$5,600 in 2023) to each of the accused (including Narayanan).[19] In September 1999, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) passed strictures against the government of Kerala for having damaged Narayanan's distinguished career in space research along with the physical and mental torture to which he and his family were subjected. After the dismissal of charges against them, the two scientists, Sasikumar and Narayanan were transferred out of Thiruvananthapuram and were given desk jobs.[20]
In 2001, the NHRC ordered the Government of Kerala to pay him a compensation of ₹1 crore (equivalent to ₹4.0 crore or US$500,000 in 2023).[21] He retired in 2001. The Kerala High Court ordered a compensation amount of ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹19 lakh or US$24,000 in 2023) to be paid to Nambi Narayanan based on an appeal from NHRC India in September 2012.
On 14 September 2018, the Supreme Court appointed a panel to probe the "harrowing" arrest and alleged torture of Narayanan. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also awarded Narayanan ₹50 lakh (equivalent to ₹67 lakh or US$84,000 in 2023) in compensation for the "mental cruelty" he suffered all these years.[22] The same month, Narayanan's name was recommended for Padma awards by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, then a BJP member of parliament.[23]
Recent developments
In 2021, the Kerala government settled the case filed against it by Narayanan by agreeing to a payment of ₹1.3 crore (US$160,000).[24]
On 14 April 2021 the Supreme Court of India ordered a CBI probe into the involvement of police officers in the conspiracy.[25] Several of the involved police officers filed petitions in different courts in Kerala lodging documents which they claimed showed transfer of lands between 2004 and 2008 by Narayanan to various CBI officers involved in the investigation, were produced.[26] The Kerala High Court dismissed the pleas, stating the documents did not show land sales[27] but gave permission for the petitioners to file a fresh case if they could provide sale records .[28]
Awards
- March 2019: Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award.[3]
Bibliography
Books
- Ormakalude Bhramanapadham: An Autobiography by Nambi Narayanan, Prajesh Sen; Thrissur Current Books, 2017.
- Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case by Nambi Narayanan, Arun Ram; Bloomsbury India, 2018.
Legacy
- In July 2022, a biographical film was made titled Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, written, directed by R. Madhavan, who also played the titular role of Narayanan.[29][30]
References
- ^ "Nambi Narayanan : R Madhavan's 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' will explore the untold story of scientist Nambi Narayanan. Here's what you need to know". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ a b "After 5 decades, TCE students come together for a reunion". The Hindu. 9 December 2014.
- ^ a b President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Shri S. Nambi Narayanan. Government of India. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9789386826275. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Shri S. Nambi Narayanan. Government of India. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ Scroll Staff. "'Rocketry – The Nambi Effect' teaser: Madhavan presents scientist Nambi Narayanan's story". Scroll.in.
- ^ Aravind, Indulekha (17 June 2018). "Isro spy case: The scientist who came in from the cold". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f MS, Nileena (1 November 2020). "Space Secrets: How the CBI killed India's biggest espionage case". Caravan.(subscription required)
- ^ "Isro scientist Nambi Narayanan implicated in fake spy case to get Rs 1.3 crore from Kerala govt". India Today. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
{{cite magazine}}
: Unknown parameter|agency=
ignored (help) - ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
- ^ "'Is It Sin To Be Hindu?', Nambi Narayanan Responds To Criticism Over His Religion In The Movie 'Rocketry'".
- ^ "Memories of a 'spy' who won - Framed scientist vindicated on milestone-eve". www.telegraphindia.com.
- ^ "How Nambi Narayanan was framed in a fake Spy Case?". Taazakhabar News. 17 September 2018.
- ^ Ram, Arun. "S Arunan: Man behind ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission". The Economic Times. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ Ittyipe, Minu (13 July 2017). "A Gladiator in the Space-Ring". Outlook. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ Sarin, Ritu (3 January 1999). "Wrongly accused ISRO scientist seeks damages". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 September 2004. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ a b Joshi, Charulata (31 August 1996). "ISRO spy scandal: IB, Kerala Police dispute CBI contention of bungling up the probe". India Today.
- ^ Krishnakuar, R (8 May 1998). "Requiem for a scandal". frontline.thehindu.com. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Cops Tortured Me". Outlookindia.com. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ A shattered man now sits cool and detached. The Hindu, 8 September 2012.
- ^ Rajagopal, Krishnadas (14 September 2018). "ISRO spy case victim wants justice". The Hindu.
- Telegraph (India).
- ^ "Nambi Narayanan gets ₹1.3 cr. additional compensation". The Hindu. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "ISRO Spy Case". The New Indian Express. 15 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ Cherukkad, Rajan (24 July 2021). "ISRO case getting murkier: Ex-cops allege Nambi Narayanan transferred acres of land to CBI officers". Mathrubhumi.
- ^ "ISRO case: Kerala HC dismisses plea claiming Nambi Narayanan influenced CBI probe by land deals". PTI. 15 November 2021.
- ^ "Nambi Narayanan influenced CBI probe in ISRO spy case through land deals with agency officials: Kerala HC told". PTI. 10 November 2021.
- ^ "R. Madhavan: 95 per cent of Indians don't know about Nambi Narayanan, which I think is a crime". 1 November 2018.
- ^ "Teaser of R Madhavan's 'Rocketry – The Nambi Effect' gets 10 million views in 24 hours!". IMDb.