New Delhi, Feb 2 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to grill Ramalinga Raju, former chief of embattled Satyam Computer Services Limited.

According to sources, Goolam E. Vahanvati, Solicitor General and also counsel for SEBI, submitted the request before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan. The Bench is scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday.

On January 31, a judge of a trial court in Hyderabad had adjourned to February 9, the hearing of petition of the SEBI to interrogate Ramalinga Raju. The court said it would not pass an order without hearing from Raju and his brother B Rama Raju. On January 7, Ramalinga Raju confessed to fraudulent manipulation to the tune of rupees 7,136 crores over several years by inflating the company's profits and assets.

Although the Satyam scandal, India's biggest corporate fraud, has shattered global confidence in India's corporate governance, the other IT companies have assured the rest of the world that all relevant services are professionally and ethically in order and as such there should be no room for any doubt about the professional integrity of Indian companies. (ANI)