On January 20, the Kerala High Court granted anticipatory bail to former Police and Intelligence Bureau officers, which include former Gujarat ADGP RB Sreekumar and former Kerala DGP Siby Mathews, in the case relating to the presumed framing of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO Espionage case. The Court ordered that the accused appear before the CBI for questioning on January 27 between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. If they are arrested, they will be granted bail on executing bonds of Rs 1 lakh each with two solvent sureties of the same amount. They are not permitted to leave India without the permission of the competent court.

"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. Petitioners shall not influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidence. They shall fully corporate with the investigation", The procedural part of the order was read aloud by Justice Babu. The High Court reviewed the bail applications of the five accused after the Supreme Court overturned its earlier orders granting them pre-arrest bail in 2021 in December 2022. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the High Court for a new decision after observing that previous orders were issued without taking certain factors into account.

Narayanan's lawyer, C Unnikrishnan, claimed that the arrest was part of a larger plot to stymie the development of cryogenic rocket technology. A similar submission was made by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who appeared for the Central Bureau of Investigation. ASG also stated that the matter is of a serious nature, involving national security, that foreign powers may be involved in the conspiracy to bring a false case against eminent ISRO scientists, and that detention was required for proper investigation.

Case Title: P.S. Jayaprakash v. Central Bureau of Investigation and other connected matters
Citation: Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) Nos.8008-8010/2021