Does Raju prefer jail to bail?

No Plea For Relief From HC; Buzz Is That He’s Cooling His Heels To Avoid Creditors

Strange as it may seem, the speculation doing the rounds in informed circles is that Ramalinga Raju doesn’t want bail. He would rather continue to cool his heels in jail. The speculation has arisen from the fact that Raju’s lawyers haven’t approached the Andhra high court for bail so far. Though his bail application has been rejected five times by the metropolitan court, in high profile cases like that of Raju, it is only the HC that gives relief. It is surprising that Raju’s men haven’t knocked the door of the HC, a police officer told TOI.

The case for a bail for Raju has become relatively stronger than before because a chargesheet in his case has already been filed by the CBI. Although the CBI has indicated that the investigations aren’t fully over and that it may file a supplementary chargesheet, legal circles assert that once the main chargesheet has been filed, a case for bail is strengthened.

A CBI team wants to go abroad to look into possible diversion of funds from Satyam or its affiliates in various countries. The entire exercise will take a lot of time considering that many countries in North America and the Continent have to be visited. This doesn’t imply that Raju will have to remain in jail till all the investigations are finished, a lawyer said.

TOI asked Raju’s lawyer S Bharat Kumar the reason for his client not approaching the HC for bail. He said: ‘‘The bail has been rejected so many times in the lower court. Two other accused in the case — Price Waterhouse auditors S Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas — had approached the HC but their bail pleas too were rejected.’’

Lawyers said there was no bar to the number of times that an accused can approach a court for bail. Usually, the courts rule that they would not grant bail till material conditions in the case don’t change. They point out that the material conditions in the Raju case have changed since a chargesheet has been filed. ‘‘A bail is often a chance matter. If you are serious you have to be at it, arguing your case well. But be sure in a case like that of Raju, the magistrate’s court will never give a bail,’’ a senior criminal lawyer in the HC said. Raju has been in police and judicial custody since January 9.

The story doing the rounds is that Raju doesn’t want to leave jail because this will bring him in direct touch with many from whom he borrowed huge sums of money. In the months and week before his confession, Raju borrowed huge money to save himself. The moment he leaves jail the people from whom he borrowed money will be at his throat. To save himself from this position, Raju would rather suffer imprisonment than be confronted by them, a corporate source tracking the Raju saga told TOI.

The fact that the real estate market is still to pick up will make Raju vulnerable. Once the land prices escalate, Raju would be able to liquidate some of the holdings in the name of his 325 privately-held companies and pay off the lenders, the source added. Till then the heat at Chanchalguda jail in Hyderabad is less than that outside in the city. Raju’s lawyer Bharat Kumar said: ‘‘All sorts of theories can be floated. But this doesn’t make it true.’’
Source :- The Times of India 7 June 2009 P 14 Delhi
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