Antrix Devas case: CBI names ex-ISRO chief Madhavan Nair

The new development comes a month after India had lost its arbitration case in a Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) tribunal based in the Hague against Bengaluru’s Devas Multimedia Private Ltd., after it cancelled its satellite contract with the government company. 

Nair was quizzed by CBI back in May and was asked about the details of the contract signed between Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia Private Limited on 28 January, 2005, during his tenure as chairman of ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space. The Antrix-Devas deal had seen the early exit of Nair as ISRO Chairman as he was the Chairman of the Governing Council of Antrix when the deal was finalised. CBI had registered a case last year and conducted searches at the premises of Devas Limited as well as the then Executive Director of Antrix, KR Sridhara Murthi, in Bengaluru. 

An FIR was lodged against Murthi, MG Chandrasekhar and R Vishwanathan of Forge Advisors, Devas Multi-media Private Limited and unnamed officials of Antrix, ISRO and Department of Space in a designated court in Bengaluru. The agency has slapped 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act against them. It is alleged that the accused people had entered into a criminal conspiracy and the government officials abused their position by favouring Devas by giving them rights for delivery of videos, multimedia and information services to mobile phones using S-Band through GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites and terrestrial systems in India.