CBI ropes in top lawyer to deny Raju bail

By S A Ishaqui
Hyderabad,Aug. 5: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) engaged the solicitor-general of India to oppose the bail petition of B. Ramalinga Raju, the prime accused in the mutli-crore Satyam scam, before the AP High Court. Mr T. Niranjan Reddy, the special public prosecutor of the CBI, on Thursday, informed Justice Raja Elango that the solicitor-general, Mr Gopal Subrahmanyam, will appear in the case, and urged the judge to adjourn the matter to August 12.

However, counsel for Raju objected to the CBI’s plea and contended that it did not allow the accused to avail of the opportunity to get bail by seeking adjournments of the hearing. Responding to the contentions of the petitioner’s counsel, the judge said that the court cannot deny the opportunity to the CBI to defend its case and adjourned the case. Mr G. Subrahmanyam, the second top lawman of the government after the attorney-general, is defending the cases of the government of India. He is an expert in criminal laws and hails from Tamil Nadu.

The CBI is of the opinion that if Raju gets bail, he is likely to spoil the investigation at this crucial juncture, as eight of the nine accused are out on bail. According to sources, the CBI sent a request to the Centre to spare the services of Mr Subrahmanyam to argue the case, as investigation into factors like diversion of funds are yet to come to a logical end.

Earlier, Ramalinga Raju had withdrawn his bail petition from the Supreme Court and approached the AP High Court after the court had granted bail to five other accused in the case including his brother. Ramalinga Raju contended in his bail petition that the charges are on same footing with those of five other accused, including his brother, already out on bail.

Ramalinga Raju, who had confessed to fudging accounts of the company on January 7, 2009, retracted his confessional statement and claimed that he is innocent. Meanwhile, Ch. Srisailam, the former finance manager of Satyam, approached the AP High Court on Thursday, urging the court to set aside an order passed by the metropolitan session judge of the Nampally court by dismissing his revision petition.