New York: Ramalinga Raju, who resigned
as chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd. after saying he
overstated the company?s assets by $1 billion, was granted
pauper status in US litigation brought by investors.
US District Judge Barbara Jones in New York approved
the status for Raju; his brother Rama Raju, Satyam?s former
chief executive officer; and Srinivas Vadlamani, the company?s
ex- finance chief. Proceeding in forma pauperis? means the
three men won’t have to pay filing fees and other court costs
tied to the litigation because of their financial condition.
“The court finds that defendants have adequately
demonstrated that they are unable to pay costs as described”
in the federal law, Jones wrote in an order yesterday.
The three men have been charged criminally and have been
in custody in India since last January.
Shares and American depositary receipts of the
software-services provider based in Hyderabad, India, have
plunged since Jan 7, 2009, when Raju wrote a letter to the
board explaining the financial irregularities. His letter
touched off India?s biggest corporate-fraud inquiry.
Keith Fleischman, a lawyer for the investors at Grant &
Eisenhofer PA in New York, declined to comment on Jones?s
ruling.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 28, 2010, 00:32