Court objects to no-show by Ramalinga Raju

Irked by the non-appearance of former Satyam Computer Services chairman B Ramalinga Raju in a case filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, a Hyderabad court on Thursday issued a production warrant against Raju, directing that he should be produced before the court on 30 December.

Raju is among the 11 former directors of the erstwhile Satyam against whom the SFIO - the investigation arm of the Union Corporate Affairs Ministry - has filed seven complaints for alleged violations under different sections of the Companies Act.

Subsequently, the Special Court for Economic Offences had issued summons on Ramalinga Raju, Satyam's former managing director B Rama Raju, and its ex-chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas for examination on Thursday.

Though, Rama Raju and V Srinivas, who are in judicial custody, were produced before the court, Ramalinga Raju, who is being treated for Hepatitis C at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in the city, was unable to appear in the court.

Expressing displeasure, Judge T Rajani sought to know, "why Ramalinga Raju was not produced". In reply, Raju's counsel Bharat Kumar filed a petition saying his client could not attend proceedings due to his ongoing treatment.

Bharat Kumar informed the court that his client was undergoing a six-week treatment for hepatitis and may not be able to attend the court personally even on 30 December.