Antrix-Devas deal: Court to consider chargesheet on March 30

New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) A court here on Wednesday fixed March 30 to consider the chargesheet in the Devas-Antrix deal case after the CBI sought an adjournment as the agency was still awaiting government sanction to try the accused officials.

The court of Central Bureau of Investigation Special Judge Vinod Kumar is hearing the case against former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, former Additional Secretary in the Department of Space Veena S. Rao, and then ISRO Director A. Bhaskar Narayana Rao and others.

The CBI filed the chargesheet on August 11 last year against them for causing a loss of Rs 578 crore to the exchequer in the Devas-Antrix deal.

The then Antrix Executive Director K.R. Sridhara Murthi, former Managing Director of US-based Forge Advisors, and CEO of Devas Ramachandra Vishwanathan and the then Director of Devas M.G. Chandrasekhar and three former directors of Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia were also charge-sheeted.

The deal was inked between private multimedia company Devas and Antrix, which is the commercial arm of the Indian space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The CBI accused them of hatching a criminal conspiracy with an intent to cause undue gains to themselves or others by abusing their official positions and causing loss to Antrix Corporation and ISRO.

A case was registered against the accused on March 16, 2015.

The Antrix-Devas deal saw an early exit of Nair as ISRO Chairman since he was the head of Antrix Governing Council when the deal was finalised in January 2005.

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