Satyam Computer Services, since rebranded as Mahindra Satyam as it is now controlled by

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the Mahindra group, has filed a suit in the civil court of Hyderabad against the past board of directors of Satyam, certain former employees and former statutory auditors PriceWaterHouse India and its affiliates and partners.

In a filing to the stock exchanges, SCSL said it sought damages for inter-alia perpetrating fraud, breach of fiduciary responsibility, obligations and negligence in performance of duties. “We have filed a civil suit. Seeking monetary compensation is not ruled out. We have named the employees who are already facing trial and a few others who are not,” said a Satyam official.

Vinod Dham, Krishna Palepu and Mangalam Srin­i­v­asan , TR Prasad, V S Raju and M Rammohan Rao we­re on the board apart from Ramalinga Raju and his brother and former managing director B Rama Raju when the fraud was detected. In the event of the company seeking monetary co­m­p­e­nsation for the fraud, a designate body should qua­n­tify the losses before awa­rding any compensation. However, PriceWaterHouse India isn’t amused. “PW India is outraged that Satyam is attempting to shift responsibility to the auditors for the consequences of a carefully and deliberately concealed fraud that was undertaken at the direction of its own senior management,” said PW India in a statement. The auditor has filed its own civil suit against Satyam and certain members of its former senior management claiming compensation and damages.

Satyam fell into a worst crisis immediately after its founder B Ramalinga Raju on January 7, 2009, confessed to have fudged accounts to the tune of Rs 7,136 crore. The crisis forced the government to supersede the company’s board with its nominees to revive it through auctioning.

Mahindra group, which gained control of the company through an open auction organised by the government-nominated board in April, 2009, subsequently faced several claims by investors, erstwhile partners and regulators in the overseas markets and regulators in India. Under the new management, the company has entered into a number of settlements with investors and regulators in overseas markets.

The settlements include $70 million with Upaid Systems, $125 million with investors under class action suit in the US, and $10 million with the US securities market regulator, Securities Exchange Commission.

The claims the company now contests include Rs 1,230 crore by 37 companies that claimed lending Ramalinga Raju, $68 million claimed by investors under Aberdeen Complaint, Rs 616.5 crore of tax dues claimed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes.