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CBI seeks time till Oct 31
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) got a rap from the Supreme Court on Monday for failing to complete the trial in the Satyam scam case within the July 31 deadline set by court.
With all high-profile accused in the scam including Satyam’s former chairman B Ramalinga Raju behind bars, the Supreme Court gave liberty to the accused to seek bail if the trial failed to complete by the set date.
On Monday, the CBI through Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Haren Raval argued for extension of the deadline to October 31 this year. To justify its demand, Raval cited the ongoing strike in the Andhra Pradesh courts to be a reason behind 24 precious days being lost. With 211 witnesses already examined and cross-examined by the defence, the delay was on account of the defence to cross-examine the investigating officers.
But the Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma refused to buy this excuse. It said, “Most cases you (CBI) lose because your list of witnesses is so long. A case is won not on quantity but quality of witnesses.”
Referring to its October 26, 2010 order cancelling the bail granted to Raju and five others, the Bench said, “We had told you then that you must prove your list and get all material within the date fixed by us. There will be a problem if you maintain a list of over 600-odd witnesses.”
Raval informed the court that the delay was not on part of the prosecution. To prove its clean slate the ASG said that 440 witnesses were dropped to expedite trial. The cross-examination of all witnesses ended in July 2011 following which the prosecution examined the 15 investigating officers and the chief investigating officer. However, the defence began cross-examination of the officers only lately which had led to the delay.
The Bench issued notice on the CBI application and decided to hear it with the pending bail applications of the other scam accused listed for next week. Before parting it said, “The way the whole trial has proceeded gives a feeling there may be no case where so many witnesses were examined.” The court warned the CBI from seeking unnecessary adjournments before the trial court to ensure no further delay in trial.
According to CBI, Satyam founder Raju along with others forged the annual financial statements of the company to artificially raise the share prices of Satyam. Even bank statements were fudged to show huge reserves in the company’s bank accounts.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) got a rap from the Supreme Court on Monday for failing to complete the trial in the Satyam scam case within the July 31 deadline set by court.
With all high-profile accused in the scam including Satyam’s former chairman B Ramalinga Raju behind bars, the Supreme Court gave liberty to the accused to seek bail if the trial failed to complete by the set date.
On Monday, the CBI through Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Haren Raval argued for extension of the deadline to October 31 this year. To justify its demand, Raval cited the ongoing strike in the Andhra Pradesh courts to be a reason behind 24 precious days being lost. With 211 witnesses already examined and cross-examined by the defence, the delay was on account of the defence to cross-examine the investigating officers.
But the Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma refused to buy this excuse. It said, “Most cases you (CBI) lose because your list of witnesses is so long. A case is won not on quantity but quality of witnesses.”
Referring to its October 26, 2010 order cancelling the bail granted to Raju and five others, the Bench said, “We had told you then that you must prove your list and get all material within the date fixed by us. There will be a problem if you maintain a list of over 600-odd witnesses.”
Raval informed the court that the delay was not on part of the prosecution. To prove its clean slate the ASG said that 440 witnesses were dropped to expedite trial. The cross-examination of all witnesses ended in July 2011 following which the prosecution examined the 15 investigating officers and the chief investigating officer. However, the defence began cross-examination of the officers only lately which had led to the delay.
The Bench issued notice on the CBI application and decided to hear it with the pending bail applications of the other scam accused listed for next week. Before parting it said, “The way the whole trial has proceeded gives a feeling there may be no case where so many witnesses were examined.” The court warned the CBI from seeking unnecessary adjournments before the trial court to ensure no further delay in trial.
According to CBI, Satyam founder Raju along with others forged the annual financial statements of the company to artificially raise the share prices of Satyam. Even bank statements were fudged to show huge reserves in the company’s bank accounts.
