A city court on Friday rejected market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India's plea to interrogate Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju, while refusing to entertain another petition by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office.
The 6th additional chief metropolitan magistrate rejected Sebi's plea for taking the Raju brothers into custody for a day and returned as 'not maintainable' the petition filed by SFIO seeking six days custody of Ramalinga and Satyam's former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas.
The three were, meanwhile, sent to judicial remand till January 31.
While Rama Raju was sent back to judicial custody early on Friday, Ramalinga and Srinivas were sent to judicial remand after they were produced in the court this evening after five days in police custody.
The court also posted the bail applications of Ramalinga and Srinivas for hearing on January 27 and that of Rama Raju on January 28.
Public prosecutor K Ajay Kumar had opposed Ramalinga's bail plea, contending that he was supposed to be a watchdog of public money, but betrayed the trust by fudging accounts.
"The crime he (Ramalinga Raju) committed was grave and heinous," he said.
The Rajus were arrested on January 9 and Srinivas on January 10 and have been inaccessible to the separate investigation teams of Sebi and SFIO that reached the city as early as January 8 -- a day after Ramalinga disclosed a Rs 7,800 crore (Rs 78-billion) accounting fraud in his company.
The public prosecutor further informed the court that the CID, investigating the Satyam fraud, has written letters to various banks seeking information about the fixed deposits.
However, BNP Paribas branch at Hyderabad has replied to the investigating agency that it has no fixed deposit of Satyam Computer and the bank has no transaction since 2004 with Ramalinga Raju or any others of the firm.