new delhi

India's Supreme Court exonerated two leading space scientists and four others last week in the culmination of a spy case that rocked the country four years ago (see Nature 372, 491; 1994). The two scientists worked for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

The court also criticized the government of the state of Kerala for trying to reopen the investigation after it had been closed by a central government agency. The court ordered the state to pay $2,500 in compensation to each of the six accused.

Nambi Narayanan and S. Chandrasekar were scientists at ISRO's liquid propulsion centre in Thiruvandapuram when they were arrested by Kerala police and charged with passing information about the development of India's cryogenic rocket engine.

Also arrested were two women from the Maldives, and two Indian businessmen who had links with a Russian aerospace company. All were accused of being part of a spy ring financed by a third country.

The charges were based on the fact that addresses and contact numbers of ISRO scientists and of the businessmen were found in the hands of the Maldivian women, one of whom worked for the islands' intelligence agency.

India's Central Bureau of Investigations, which took over the case, found no evidence of espionage and declared the case closed in April 1996. But the Kerala government disagreed and sought a new investigation by the state police.

Although it is not officially admitted, it is believed that low morale at ISRO caused by the investigation into the spying allegations has helped push India's geostationary launch-vehicle programme back by two years.