TWO years after the scandal came to light, the spy case involving scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country's premier space research agency, continues to simmer in a cauldron of legal contentions. The case, which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had declared closed due to 'lack of evidence', was brought into focus yet again when Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan of the Kerala High Court stayed the May 2 order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Ernakulam on July 18, discharging all the six accused in the case and accepting the CBI's closure report. The high court ruling came close on the heels of the state government's decision to reopen the case.
Simultaneously, the high court directed the CBI and the CJM's court not to return documents relating to the case to concerned parties until the criminal revision petition filed by S. Vijayan, first informant in the case and now deputy superintendent, Narcotic Regional Control Bureau, has been disposed.
While admitting Vijayan's petition, the...
