Court to decide on Ramalinga Raju’s trial Monday

HYDERABAD - A special court will decide Monday whether B. Ramalinga Raju, the key accused in the Rs.14,000 crore Satyam scam, should be examined through video conference.

The court Friday directed Raju’s counsel to file a counter to CBI’s petition seeking a video linkage between the court and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), where Raju is being treated for Hepatitis C.

The court gave this direction after NIMS doctors informed the court that the former chairman of the IT bellwether was not in a position to appear before the court.

The CBI, which suspect Raju is feigning illness to avoid appearing in court since September last year, wants the video linkage to speed up the trial in the Rs.14,000 crore scam.

The doctor, who is treating Raju, told the court that he can’t eat and feels breathless at times.

The medical report submitted to the court Thursday says that Raju’s Hepatitis C count had come down from 90 lakh in September 2009 to less than 50,000 now.

Pulmonologist Ajit Kumar told the court that the first phase of Raju’s treatment would be completed by July 17 and then only would he be able to give an opinion on Raju’s condition.

According to the report, Raju is suffering from loss of appetite, breathlessness when excreting, swelling, itching behind the ears, excessive weakness, palpitations and infection of nail-bed for the past three months.

Raju had in January last year confessed to a Rs.7,800 crore accounting fraud in the IT major. He and nine other accused, including top company officials and auditors, were arrested in the case.

However, the CBI told the court in November last year that the scam is of over Rs.14,000 crore.