Hyderabad, May 06: The Supreme Court ruling that narco-analysis and polygraph tests are violative of the fundamental rights of an individual if conducted without his consent, may well prove to be an unexpected blessing for B Ramalinga Raju, main accused in the Satyam fraud case.
Ramalinga Raju had been successfully keeping the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at bay from conducting polygraph and brain-mapping tests on him. The CBI had been pleading in the courts that since Ramalinga Raju was not coughing up information on fudging of balance sheets and accounts and where he parked h i s i l l – g o t t e n wealth, it was necessary to conduct polygraph and brain-mapping tests on him to get at the truth.
The counsels for Ramalinga Raju argued that the tests were uncalled for and may adversely affect Raju’s health. They also maintained that Ramalinga Raju was not in favour of the tests. When the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate had upheld the CBI counsel’s contention and allowed the investigating agency to conduct the tests, counsels for Ramalinga Raju appraoched the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
A two-member bench of the High Court delivered a split verdict on the petition filed by Ramalinga Raju. While Justice Gopal Reddy ruled in favour of the accused, Justice Samudrala Govindarajulu in his verdict stated that the CBI had the authority to subject the accused to the tests.
Following the split verdict, Chief Justice Nissar Ahmed Kukru ordered that the case be presented before a third judge.
And now, the apex court ruling has come much to the relief of Ramalinga Raju. The CBI counsels said the would react to the apex court verdict only after reading the entire text.
—Agencies