The Centre on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking urgent hearing on the report filed by a high-level committee regarding the role of erring police officials in the 1994 espionage case relating to ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan who had been acquitted and was eventually awarded ₹50 lakh compensation by the top court.
The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before a bench, headed by Chief Justice S. A. Bobde, which said that the case would be heard next week.
Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices A. S. Bopanna and .V Ramasubramanian, that the report has been filed by the committee and it be considered as it is a ‘national issue.’
The bench said it understands that it is an important matter but ‘not a very urgent matter.’
The apex court had on September 14, 2018 appointed a three-member panel, headed by its former judge D. K. Jain, while directing the Kerala government to cough up ₹50 lakh compensation for compelling Narayanan to undergo ‘immense humiliation.’
It had ordered setting up of the committee to take appropriate steps against the erring officials for causing ‘tremendous harassment’ and ‘immeasurable anguish’ to Narayanan and had directed the Centre and State government to nominate one officer each in the panel.
