Ramalinga Raju finally shows his face in court

After a gap of 10 months, former chairman of Satyam Computer Services B Ramalinga Raju, accused of perpetrating the largest corporate fraud in Indian history, today unexpectedly appeared before the special court in Hyderabad trying the case.

A frail-looking Raju, who is officially suffering from Hepatitis C and lodged in a luxury room of the Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) since his arrest in January year, walked into the Nampally Criminal Court complex accompanied by doctors from the so-called '5-star' hospital.

Raju, was granted conditional bail by the Andhra Pradesh High Court last week. His nine fellow-accused had already been granted bail earlier. Raju appeared before the trial court to fulfil the bail condition that he should be present in the court during every hearing.

The prime accused in the case was in the court for 15 minutes and was taken back to NIMS after completing formalities.

Earlier, Raju's lawyer Bharat Kumar requested the judge to allow him to return to NIMS as he was not well.

Raju has been evading court since November last year, when he was admitted to NIMS for treatment. Quoting reports of doctors, his lawyer said his condition was serious. However, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has voiced doubts about his medical condition.

Meanwhile, his lawyer is contemplating filing petition in the high court seeking exemption from appearing before the trial court during every hearing.

The high court on 18 May granted bail to Raju, who had shocked corporate India in January last year by admitting to a massive Rs.14,000 crore fraud in the information technology company which has since been renamed Mahindra Satyam after its takeover by the Mahindra & Mahindra Group.