The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the bail application of Ramalinga Raju in the infamous Satyam scam. Ever since the scandal broke out, Raju has been advised and represented by Bharat Kumar. Senior Advocate T.R. Andhyarujina is the first high profile counsel appearing on behalf of Raju. Bharat assisted Andhyarujina before the three-judge bench comprising of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishanan and Justices Deepak Verma and B.S Chauhan. Delhi-based Bina Madhavan of Lawyer’s Knit & Co. are the Advocates on Record.

Andhyarujina, argued that Raju has suffered from a heart attack and his health continues to deteriorate. The Supreme Court brushed aside this argument and said, “He is getting proper medical treatment,” and added, “When serious crimes are committed, people are bound to be in jail”.

Andhyarujina also argued that since the Supreme Court had granted bail to others involved in the scam, Ramalinga Raju too deserves bail, especially after Satyam was taken over by Mahindra. Unmoved, the court made it clear that Raju could not be released until the main witnesses in the case were examined. The Bench added that Raju could file a bail plea after all the main witnesses have been examined.

With about 700 witnesses, more than 1.8 lakh pages to be examined before the trail court, a charge sheet with statements from 433 witnesses with 1,532 supporting documents that run into 65,000 pages, it is clear that Raju will be spending a substantial amount of time in jail before any respite comes his way.

It is unusual that a high profile or a big name law firm or Senior Counsel was not engaged considering the nature of this case. Sources close to Satyam also disclosed that Satyam and the Raju Brothers have not paid legal fees to their counsels ever since the scam broke out and consequently most law firms and Senior Counsels are wary about representing Raju or the Company.

Last month, Karanjawala & Co., Mukul Rohatgi, Siddharth Luthra bailed out PWC auditors who are also accused in the scam for assisting the Raju Brothers in the scam. 

Reference:

Supreme Court of India: Byrraju Ramalinga Raju vs. State of Andhra Pradesh; Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 2075/2010