Acting under the pressure of the deadline set by Supreme Court, a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Hyderabad started the trial in the Satyam Computers (now Mahindra Satyam) fraud case on Tuesday. The court also announced a schedule for the trial.
Disgraced former chairman B Ramalinga Raju and the other accused in the case were present in the court on the first day of the trial. Raju had been evading the investigating agency by allegedly faking his illness. He was granted bail by the Andhra Pradesh High Court for the same reasons.
According to the Supreme Court order, all the accused were to surrender by November 8, even as their bails were cancelled to facilitate speedy and unhindered trial. The apex court has set July 31 as the deadline for concluding the arguments in the case.
The special court announced the examination of witnesses in the case would start on a day-to-day basis from November 8. The first batch of six witnesses from banks would be examined between November 8 and 15.
A total of 697 witnesses have been identified in the case, but CBI is likely to examine only about 300 key witnesses during the trial.
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