New Delhi Nov 22 PTI The Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear the CBIs plea challenging the Kerala High Court order granting anticipatory bail to four persons including a former Director-General of Police DGP in connection with the 1994 ISRO espionage case relating to the alleged framing of scientist Nambi NarayananThe plea came up for hearing before a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar which issued notice on the petition and posted it for hearing on November 29The high court on August 13 granted anticipatory bail to four accused -- the former Gujarat DGP two former police officers of Kerala and a retired intelligence official -- in connection with the caseThose who were granted anticipatory bail by the high court were -- R B Sreekumar former DGP of Gujarat Vijayan Thampi S Durga Dutt and P S JayaprakashAdditional Solicitor General ASG S V Raju appearing for the CBI told the apex court that a grant of anticipatory bail might derail the investigation in the caseReferring to the details he said CBI has found in its probe that some scientists were tortured and framed in the matter due to which development of the cryogenic engine was hit and this led to Indias space programme going back by almost one or two decadesWe CBI are proceeding on the line that the technology for the cryogenic engine was deliberately tried to be stalled by arresting the scientists who were involved in the development of the engine as a result of which our space programme went back by at least one or two decades Raju told the benchHe said this is a very serious matter and there may be a larger conspiracy at the behest of foreign hands which is being investigatedWe are issuing notice the bench said and posted the matter for hearing on November 29As the bench said it was issuing notice on the plea the ASG said May I request a stay of the orderWhere is the question of stay we are issuing notice and taking it on November 29 the bench observedThe investigating agency had earlier alleged that there was a clear indication that the accused were part of a team which had ulterior motives to torpedo the attempts of the ISRO for manufacturing the cryogenic engineWhile granting anticipatory bail to these persons the high court had said There is not even a scintilla of evidence regarding the petitioners being influenced by any foreign power so as to induce them to hatch a conspiracy to falsely implicate the scientists of the ISRO with the intention to stall the activities of the ISRO with regard to the development of the cryogenic engine It had said unless there are specific materials regarding their involvement prima facie it cannot be said that they were acting against the interests of the country The CBI has registered a case against 18 persons for various alleged offences including criminal conspiracy in connection with the arrest and detention of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in the espionage caseThe case which had hit the headlines in 1994 pertained to allegations of transfer of certain confidential documents on Indias space programme to foreign countries by two scientists and four others including two Maldivian womenNarayanan who was given a clean chit by the CBI had earlier said that the Kerala police had fabricated the case and the technology he was accused to have stolen and sold in the 1994 case did not even exist at that time The CBI in its probe had said that the then top police officials in Kerala were responsible for Narayanans illegal arrestThe apex court had on September 14 2018 appointed a three-member committee while directing the Kerala government to cough up Rs 50 lakh compensation for compelling Narayanan to undergo immense humiliationTerming the police action against the ex-scientist of the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO as a psycho-pathological treatment the apex court had in September 2018 said that his liberty and dignity basic to his human rights were jeopardised as he was taken into custody and eventually despite all the glory of the past was compelled to face cynical abhorrencePTI ABA ABA RKS RKS