SC notice to CBI on Satyam auditor's bail plea

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today sought CBI's response on the bail plea of Price Waterhouse auditor Subramani Gopalkrishnan who was arrested in the Rs 7,136-crore Satyam Computer fraud for allegedly conniving with its founder B Ramalinga Raju but did not grant him interim relief.

A bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and C K Prasad granted three weeks to CBI to file its response.

The bail plea of Gopalakrishnan, who was also accused in the accounting fraud at Satyam Computer Services Ltd along with another auditor Talluri Srinivas, was rejected by the Andhara High Court in December last year.

Srinivas had on February 3 obtained bail from the apex court on a personal bond of Rs 20 lakh and two sureties of like amount and surrender of his passport as the conditions for his release on bail.

The apex court had earlier this week dimissed the bail plea of disgraced Satyam Computers founder and ex-chairman B Ramalinga Raju on the ground that he had the propensity to influence the witnesses.

Raju has challenged the Andhra Pradesh High Court judgement of February 19 that dismissed his bail plea sought on the ground that he was suffering from serious cardiac and liver problems.

The accused was arrested on January 24, 2009, on charges of conspiring in the fraud, has been in judicial custody.