Satyam: Court reserves order on Raju’s plea till May 11

Hyderabad, May 8

A local court today deferred to May 11 its order on an application filed by Satyam Computers founder B Ramalinga Raju and nine others, seeking suspension of their sentence and fines imposed on them in the multi-crore rupee accounting fraud.

M Laxman, special judge for Economic Offences court-cum-VIII Metropolitan Sessions Judge (MSJ) court here, who had yesterday heard arguments and counter arguments and posted the matter for order today, said he will pronounce the order on May 11.

Raju, the kingpin of the scam, and nine other convicts, currently lodged in Cherlapally Central Prison, had filed the appeals and applications in the MSJ court on Monday, challenging their conviction, besides sentences and fines imposed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (ACMM) in the over Rs 7,000-crore scandal that came to light in 2009, and enlarging them on bail.

On April 9, the ACMM court, which tried the Satyam corporate fraud case probed by CBI, sentenced Raju and others to seven years' rigorous imprisonment for criminal conspiracy and cheating, among other offences.

It had also imposed Rs 5.35 crore fine on Raju and his brother Rama Raju while others were fined Rs 25 lakh each. PTI