Satyam scam: HC asks B Ramalinga Raju, others to move Sessions Court

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad High Court today declined to admit appeals filed by Satyam Computer founder B Ramalinga Raju and others against their conviction in the multi-crore accounting fraud at the erstwhile IT firm, observing it is not maintainable before it and told them to move sessions court.

Raju, the scam kingpin, and nine others had filed appeals in the HC, praying it to set aside of a trial court order convicting them in the Rs 7000-crore scandal that came to light in 2009.

Justice T Sunil Chowdary said the "appeals lie only before a court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge (MSJ)" and directed the petitioners to approach it as the same are not maintainable before the High Court.

"The judgement was passed by 21st Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (the trial court). Therefore, against the judgement passed by such a court on conviction, the appeal lies only before a sessions court as per CrPC," the Judge noted.

The MSJ Court (sessions court) had on April 20 refused to accept appeal petitions filed by Raju and nine others (challenging the ACCM court verdict) and returned them as not maintainable before it on the grounds that it has no jurisdiction to hear them and asked the 10 convicts to move the High Court.

Accordingly, they moved the HC, where its Registry on Tuesday raised objection over maintainability of these appeals because they were challenging the judgement of a Magistrate (ACMM) court. The matter was subsequently placed before Justice Chowdary.

The appeals were earlier filed by Raju and others in the MSJ Court, requesting it to quash the trial court's verdict and also for seeking bail.

On April 9, the ACMM Court, which tried the corporate fraud case probed by CBI, sentenced Raju and others, including his brother Rama Raju, to seven years rigorous imprisonment for criminal conspiracy and cheating, among other offences. It had also imposed a Rs 5.5-crore fine on Raju and his brother Rama Raju.

All the convicts are currently lodged in Cherlapally Central Prison here.