Satyam case verdict likely in a year

The judgment in the multi-million dollar Satyam Computer scandal is expected within a year. The ministry of corporate affairs wants the case to be handled by a fast track court on high priority basis.

“We will put the case in the fast track court … the high court in principle has already agreed and now notification of the court would be done by the state (AP) government. Once that prosecution under the IPC (Indian Penal Code ) begins, we will look into company law violations etc, but that is a different system, where you cannot file a charge sheet, you have to file a complaint,” corporate affairs minister Salman Khursheed told DNA Money.

The minister also added that, if any diversion of funds took place from Satyam to any other entities, those funds would be used to pay up any losses, including litigation penalties arising from the US where Satyam was also listed.

“We are working on a day-to-day basis… we are trying that within a year the fast track court would be able to deliver a judgment. Our immediate concern is that the prosecution should begin,” Khursheed said. He said that they are also working on early warning system consisting of software and specialised personnel to prevent any “Satyam like” cases.

“We are working along with Sebi in developing this system which would be based out of Delhi. The specialised staff along with customised software could help us tracking any potential fraudulent company. I can not give you any details on that as that will tell the firms which window is wired and which window is not wired … we need to have a system where personnel can read the disclosures and analyse it,” Khursheed said.

The ministry is testing the early warning system for 50 randomly selected companies.