Inflated accounts but did not embezzle money: Raju

Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju on Wednesday said he never admitted to fraudulently appropriating money from the IT company.

Defending bail granted to him in the Supreme Court, Raju, interestingly, thanked the government for its efforts of putting the scam-hit firm back on the track.

During the proceedings, Raju's counsel former attorney general and senior advocate Ashok V Desai submitted that the confessional statement of January 7, 2009, of inflating the account books of Satyam Computers (now Mahindra Satyam) has no linkage with siphoning off money.

"There is no admission of any siphoning off money, there is no admission of any guilt, but only of inflating the charts and accounts of the company," he submitted.

Opposing the plea of investigative agency CBI to cancel the bail granted to Raju, Desai contended that any court would take three to five years to complete the trial considering the large volumes and over 450 witness produced by the agency.

Till such a long time Raju cannot be put behind the bars, he added.

"Still we are at stage of pre-charging. Only chargesheet has been filed and charges are not even framed. Even after one year and nine months, nothing has started and he has already spend more than 19 months in prison," said Desai.

He further said, "Trial would take if not five years then three years, with so many documents and evidences. I do not know why in such condition CBI wants to send him again back to him in jail ... CBI's contention of tampering evidences by him after getting bail does sound well".

Commending the government's role in reviving the company, he said, "Thanks to the reconstructive approach of the government including Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Corporate and CLB, several eminent people were put on company's board. Company survived thanks to the whole approach."

"We have to balance between right of getting bail and custody. If the trial goes up to 10 years, then can we put him (Raju) behind bars for those 10 years," the bench said, adding that it was against the fundamental principles of jurisprudence.

The apex court was hearing CBI's appeal against order of the High Court granting bail to Raju and his brother Rama Raju, and employees of the IT firm Srinivas, Ramakrishna, Venkatapathi and Srisailam in connection with the fraud.

The court has posted the matter on October 26 for next hearing.