The Evening Wrap: SC quashes Kerala HC order granting anticipatory bail in ISRO espionage case

The Supreme Court on Friday, December 2, 2022, quashed the anticipatory bail granted by the Kerala High Court to former police and intelligence officers, including retired Kerala Director General of Police Siby Mathews, accused of being part of a conspiracy to frame ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in an espionage case in 1994. A Bench led by Justice M.R. Shah remitted the anticipatory bail applications of the accused officers to the High Court for fresh consideration. The apex court, in its judgment, directed the High Court Registry to list the case before the High Court Bench concerned within a week from December 2. The High Court was asked to hear and finally decide the case at the earliest but not outside four weeks’ time. Justice Shah, accompanied by Justice C.T. Ravikumar on the Bench, protected the accused, provided they cooperate with the investigation and without prejudice to the probe agencies, from arrest for the next five weeks till the High Court finally decided their anticipatory bail pleas. The Bench asked the High Court to decide their pleas without being influenced by the interim arrangement. The Bench said it has not commented on the merits of the case. It was left to the High Court to pass an appropriate order on the anticipatory bail pleas in accordance with the law after considering the merits. The CBI had challenged the bail given by Kerala High Court to the accused including Mathews, PS Jayaprakash, Thampi S. Durga Dutt, Vijayan and R.B Sreekumar. The CBI, which had appealed the bail in the apex court, had claimed the possibility of a “larger conspiracy involving foreign powers” which had stalled the technology to develop the cryogenic engine by decades. The agency had challenged the bail granted to the accused persons at the very “threshold” of its investigation. “The frame-up led to the arrest of scientists. The technology for the cryogenic engine was deliberately stalled for at least two decades... May be a larger conspiracy involving foreign powers... Grant of anticipatory bail at the threshold may harm the investigation,” Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, for the CBI, had submitted during the hearing. The High Court, while granting anticipatory bail, had observed that there was “not even a scintilla of evidence” to suggest that the former police officers and intelligence officials were influenced by any foreign power so as to induce them to hatch a conspiracy to falsely implicate the scientists with the intention to stall the activities of the ISRO regarding the development of cryogenic engine. The CBI had arraigned 18 people as accused in the case after the Supreme Court-appointed Justice D.K. Jain Committee found fault with them for booking cases against the scientists. The committee had also found that some of the accused were involved in the deliberate leakage of information to the media to create a narrative implicating the scientists and to arrest them without any material on record to show their involvement in the alleged espionage. Detained in U.S., Moosewala murder mastermind Goldy Brar will be brought to India: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said in Ahmedabad on Friday that gangster Goldy Brar, the mastermind behind the brutal murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala has been detained in the US, and he will “definitely be brought to India” and be in the custody of the Punjab Police “very soon”. Brar was detained by the California police which have contacted the Indian government and Punjab police about it, he said. “I am telling you...that California police have detained him. They have contacted the Indian government and the Punjab Police and informed them about his detention. They have asked whether he needs to be deported...,” Mann told reporters here. We will definitely bring Goldy Brar to India as per the treaty with America so that the families which have lost their sons and daughters find some solace. Brar was the main mastermind, and there are others as well whose records are with us,” he said. He said Brar used to get his work done through Pakistan using a gang. “We are discussing the issue at international level so that others are brought here. They will be interrogated and there may be more revelations...Goldy Brar will be very soon in the custody of Punjab police,” Mann added. Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29 this year. Brar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, had claimed the responsibility for the murder. A red corner notice, which allows the arrest and detention of a fugitive abroad, has been issued against Brar. Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, a native of Sri Muktsar Sahib in Punjab, had gone to Canada on a student visa in 2017. He is an active member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Brar was also a key conspirator in the Dera Sacha Sauda follower murder incident which took place last month. G-20 presidency rotational, inevitable; Centre indulging in ‘high voltage drama’: Congress A day after India assumed the leadership of the G-20, the Congress on Friday attacked the Modi government, saying the presidency was rotational and inevitable with none of the countries that held the responsibility earlier staging a “high voltage drama” as is being done now. India on Thursday assumed the Presidency of the G-20 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a strong pitch for a “fundamental mindset shift” to benefit humanity as a whole and saying the country will work to further promote “oneness”. Several centrally-protected monuments including UNESCO world heritage sites spread across the country were lit up with the G-20 logo to mark the start of India’s year-long Presidency of the grouping. Attacking the government, Congress’ general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the presidency of the G20 is rotational and India’s Presidency was inevitable. “Previous presidents of G20 have been USA, UK, Canada, South Korea, France, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Turkey, China, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Italy & Indonesia. None of these countries staged a high voltage drama as is being done around India becoming President of G-20 for a year,” Mr. Ramesh said on Twitter. “I’m reminded of what L. K. Advani said on 5.4.2014 in Gandhinagar—he called Mr. Modi a brilliant event manager. That’s all there is to all the spin around G-20,” he said. Besides India, the G-20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU). CBI arrests sextortion accused who targeted prominent U.S. university professor The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a person on the allegation of his involvement in the sextortion of a professor at a prominent university in the United States. The accused, Rahul Kumar, is a resident of Asola in Delhi. He was arrested after the agency’s international operations division registered a case on inputs received from the US. “The victim was allegedly lured through a facebook profile to extract sexually explicit images during video chatting with a view to blackmail...during video chat, victim was lured into sending sexually-explicit videos which were recorded,” said the CBI. According to the agency, Rahul started sending extortion threats to the victim using the email accounts related to the said sexually-explicit video chat, demanding money via his Paypal account and other valuables. He threatened to release the video. The victim sent payments worth $48,000 to the Paypal account of the accused, who sent further emails demanding an iPhone charger and earphones. “Searches were conducted on the premises of the accused in Asola, New Delhi, which led to recovery of incriminating evidence. The arrested accused is being produced today before the designated court...,” the CBI said. In Brief: Amarinder Singh, Sunil Jakhar made BJP national executive members The BJP Friday appointed ex-Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar as well as its former Uttar Pradesh president Swatantra Dev Singh as members of its national executive. It also appointed former Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill its national spokesperson, the party said in a statement. Madan Kaushik, Vishnu Deo Sai, its former presidents of Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh respectively, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Manoranjan Kalia and Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia, all three from Punjab, have been made special invitees to the national executive, it added. U.S. designates 4 leaders of AQIS, TTP as global terrorists The U.S. has designated four leaders of al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban groups as global terrorists, Secretary of State Tony Blinken has said as he emphasised that the Biden administration will ensure that terrorists do not operate with impunity in Afghanistan. The terrorists who were designated on Thursday were Osama Mehmood, the emir of al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Atif Yahya Ghouri, the deputy emir of AQIS, and Muhammad Maruf who is responsible for the group’s recruiting branch. Qari Amjad, the deputy emir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who oversees operations and militants in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, has also been slapped with sanctions. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 02 DECEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Dear reader, We have now made it easier for you to manage your The Hindu newsletter subscriptions in one place! 1. Visit [The Hindu newsletters page]( 2. Click MANAGE tab and then click LOGIN / SIGN UP 3. If you don’t have an account with The Hindu, please click SIGN UP OR If you already have an account with The Hindu with this email ID, please login using the email ID Supreme Court quashes Kerala HC order granting anticipatory bail to Nambi Narayanan case accused The Supreme Court on Friday, December 2, 2022, [quashed the anticipatory bail granted by the Kerala High Court]( to former police and intelligence officers, including retired Kerala Director General of Police Siby Mathews, accused of being part of a conspiracy to frame ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in an espionage case in 1994. A Bench led by Justice M.R. Shah remitted the anticipatory bail applications of the accused officers to the High Court for fresh consideration. [Former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan. File Photo] The apex court, in its judgment, directed the High Court Registry to list the case before the High Court Bench concerned within a week from December 2. The High Court was asked to hear and finally decide the case at the earliest but not outside four weeks’ time. Justice Shah, accompanied by Justice C.T. Ravikumar on the Bench, protected the accused, provided they cooperate with the investigation and without prejudice to the probe agencies, from arrest for the next five weeks till the High Court finally decided their anticipatory bail pleas. The Bench asked the High Court to decide their pleas without being influenced by the interim arrangement. The Bench said it has not commented on the merits of the case. It was left to the High Court to pass an appropriate order on the anticipatory bail pleas in accordance with the law after considering the merits. The CBI had challenged the bail given by Kerala High Court to the accused including Mathews, PS Jayaprakash, Thampi S. Durga Dutt, Vijayan and R.B Sreekumar. The CBI, which had appealed the bail in the apex court, had claimed the possibility of a “larger conspiracy involving foreign powers” which had stalled the technology to develop the cryogenic engine by decades. The agency had challenged the bail granted to the accused persons at the very “threshold” of its investigation. “The frame-up led to the arrest of scientists. The technology for the cryogenic engine was deliberately stalled for at least two decades... May be a larger conspiracy involving foreign powers... Grant of anticipatory bail at the threshold may harm the investigation,” Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, for the CBI, had submitted during the hearing. The High Court, while granting anticipatory bail, had observed that there was “not even a scintilla of evidence” to suggest that the former police officers and intelligence officials were influenced by any foreign power so as to induce them to hatch a conspiracy to falsely implicate the scientists with the intention to stall the activities of the ISRO regarding the development of cryogenic engine. The CBI had arraigned 18 people as accused in the case after the Supreme Court-appointed Justice D.K. Jain Committee found fault with them for booking cases against the scientists. The committee had also found that some of the accused were involved in the deliberate leakage of information to the media to create a narrative implicating the scientists and to arrest them without any material on record to show their involvement in the alleged espionage. Detained in U.S., Moosewala murder mastermind Goldy Brar will be brought to India: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said in Ahmedabad on Friday that gangster Goldy Brar, the mastermind behind the brutal murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala has been detained in the US, and he will [“definitely be brought to India”]( and be in the custody of the Punjab Police “very soon”. Brar was detained by the California police which have contacted the Indian government and Punjab police about it, he said. “I am telling you...that California police have detained him. They have contacted the Indian government and the Punjab Police and informed them about his detention. They have asked whether he needs to be deported...,” Mann told reporters here. We will definitely bring Goldy Brar to India as per the treaty with America so that the families which have lost their sons and daughters find some solace. Brar was the main mastermind, and there are others as well whose records are with us,” he said. He said Brar used to get his work done through Pakistan using a gang. “We are discussing the issue at international level so that others are brought here. They will be interrogated and there may be more revelations...Goldy Brar will be very soon in the custody of Punjab police,” Mann added. Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29 this year. Brar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, had claimed the responsibility for the murder. A red corner notice, which allows the arrest and detention of a fugitive abroad, has been issued against Brar. Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, a native of Sri Muktsar Sahib in Punjab, had gone to Canada on a student visa in 2017. He is an active member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Brar was also a key conspirator in the Dera Sacha Sauda follower murder incident which took place last month. G-20 presidency rotational, inevitable; Centre indulging in ‘high voltage drama’: Congress A day after India assumed the leadership of the G-20, the [Congress on Friday attacked the Modi government]( saying the presidency was rotational and inevitable with none of the countries that held the responsibility earlier staging a “high voltage drama” as is being done now. India on Thursday assumed the Presidency of the G-20 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a strong pitch for a “fundamental mindset shift” to benefit humanity as a whole and saying the country will work to further promote “oneness”. Several centrally-protected monuments including UNESCO world heritage sites spread across the country were lit up with the G-20 logo to mark the start of India’s year-long Presidency of the grouping. Attacking the government, Congress’ general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the presidency of the G20 is rotational and India’s Presidency was inevitable. “Previous presidents of G20 have been USA, UK, Canada, South Korea, France, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Turkey, China, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Italy & Indonesia. None of these countries staged a high voltage drama as is being done around India becoming President of G-20 for a year,” Mr. Ramesh said on Twitter. “I’m reminded of what L. K. Advani said on 5.4.2014 in Gandhinagar—he called Mr. Modi a brilliant event manager. That’s all there is to all the spin around G-20,” he said. Besides India, the G-20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU). CBI arrests sextortion accused who targeted prominent U.S. university professor The Central Bureau of Investigation has [arrested a person on the allegation of his involvement in the sextortion of a professor]( at a prominent university in the United States. The accused, Rahul Kumar, is a resident of Asola in Delhi. He was arrested after the agency’s international operations division registered a case on inputs received from the US. “The victim was allegedly lured through a facebook profile to extract sexually explicit images during video chatting with a view to blackmail...during video chat, victim was lured into sending sexually-explicit videos which were recorded,” said the CBI. According to the agency, Rahul started sending extortion threats to the victim using the email accounts related to the said sexually-explicit video chat, demanding money via his Paypal account and other valuables. He threatened to release the video. The victim sent payments worth $48,000 to the Paypal account of the accused, who sent further emails demanding an iPhone charger and earphones. “Searches were conducted on the premises of the accused in Asola, New Delhi, which led to recovery of incriminating evidence. The arrested accused is being produced today before the designated court...,” the CBI said. In Brief: Amarinder Singh, Sunil Jakhar made BJP national executive members The BJP Friday appointed ex-Punjab chief minister [Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar]( as well as its former Uttar Pradesh president Swatantra Dev Singh as members of its national executive. It also appointed former Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill its national spokesperson, the party said in a statement. Madan Kaushik, Vishnu Deo Sai, its former presidents of Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh respectively, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Manoranjan Kalia and Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia, all three from Punjab, have been made special invitees to the national executive, it added. U.S. designates 4 leaders of AQIS, TTP as global terrorists The [U.S. has designated four leaders of al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban groups as global terrorists]( Secretary of State Tony Blinken has said as he emphasised that the Biden administration will ensure that terrorists do not operate with impunity in Afghanistan. The terrorists who were designated on Thursday were Osama Mehmood, the emir of al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Atif Yahya Ghouri, the deputy emir of AQIS, and Muhammad Maruf who is responsible for the group’s recruiting branch. Qari Amjad, the deputy emir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who oversees operations and militants in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, has also been slapped with sanctions. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today’s Top Picks [[We are the most transparent institution, says Supreme Court] We are the most transparent institution, says Supreme Court]( [[Ransomware attack on AIIMS a conspiracy, planned by forces that are significant: MoS IT Chandrasekhar] Ransomware attack on AIIMS a conspiracy, planned by forces that are significant: MoS IT Chandrasekhar]( [[Looking forward to supporting PM Modi during India's G20 Presidency: U.S. President Biden] Looking forward to supporting PM Modi during India's G20 Presidency: U.S. President Biden]( [[FIFA World Cup 2022 | In Maradona's shadow, Messi strives for Argentina's forever love] FIFA World Cup 2022 | In Maradona's shadow, Messi strives for Argentina's forever love]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](