Satyam scam: Court dismisses appeal by Raju, others

A Hyderabad court on Monday rejected as non-maintainable the appeals filed by Satyam scam kingpin B Ramalinga Raju and others challenging a special CBI court's verdict that found him and nine others guilty in the multi-crore rupee accounting fraud in erstwhile Satyam Computer Services Ltd.

The appeals were filed by Raju and others last week in the court of metropolitan sessions judge (MSJ) in Hyderabad requesting to set aside the special court's judgement and also seeking bail.

After arguments, the MSJ court had reserved its order for Monday on deciding the maintainability of appeals of these cases (whether they should be heard before it or by the high court) and subsequently returned the appeals as non-maintainable before it.

Following the order, Raju and others are likely to move the high court.

On 9 April, the special court trying the Satyam accounting fraud had sentenced Raju and others to seven years' rigorous imprisonment after it found them guilty of criminal conspiracy and cheating among other offences, and also imposed a Rs5.5-crore fine on Raju and his brother Rama Raju.

The special court, set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and designated as sessions court, had also informed the convicts, who are now lodged in Cherlapally Central Prison in the city, about their right to file appeal against its judgement.