CBI court clubs 3 cases in Satyam scam

A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation here on Wednesday clubbed three chargesheets filed in the multi-crore Satyam scam case.

Delivering its orders, the court ruled that it would treat all the three chargesheets against former chairman of Satyam Computers Ramalinga Raju and nine others as one. 

However, the Cbi had argued that the chargesheets pertaining to main crime and Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) and Income Tax violations cannot be clubbed together and should be tried separately.

Delivering the ruling in a packed courtroom, Magistrate B V L N Chakravarti said clubbing of three chargesheets would reduce the burden on the exchequer.

If the three cases are tried separately, it may be difficult for the witnesses to appear before the court frequently.Raju's counsel argued that all the cases mentioned in the chargesheets are inter-related and cannot be separated.

The first two chargesheets filed by the Cbi pertain to the Rs 14,000 crore scam and the third the irregularities of Raju and nine other accused in respect of income tax payments, which caused a loss of Rs 126 crore to the company. The court will pronounce its orders on June 25 on the Cbi's plea to examine Raju through video-conferencing.