Supreme Court grants bail to PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor in Satyam case

The Supreme Court today granted bail to PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor Srinivas Talluri who was arrested in the Satyam fraud case for allegedly conniving with its founder B Ramalinga Raju and other aides.

A bench headed by chief justice KG Balakrishnan directed Talluri to furnish a personal bond of Rs20 lakh and two sureties of like amount.

While granting bail to Talluri, the bench, also comprising justice JM Panchal and justice BS Chauhan, directed him to make his appearance twice a month before the Central Bureau of Investigation and to not leave Hyderabad without informing the agency.

The bench said he has to make himself available before the CBI as and when required by the agency for the investigation.

Talluri's passport has already been impounded by the CBI.

The CBI had on January 18 opposed the bail plea of Talluri on the ground that he was part of the conspiracy in the entire Rs7,136 crore accounting fraud at Satyam Computer Services Ltd.

The Andhra Pradesh high court had rejected the bail pleas of Talluri and another Price Waterhouse auditor S Gopalakrishnan accused in the case.

The auditors were arrested on January 24 last year on the charge of having conspired in the fraud and are in judicial custody at Chanchalguda central jail in the state.

The CBI has already filed a charge sheet against B Ramalinga Raju, the founder of Satyam, and eight others including the two auditors.