Hyderabad, Jan 12 : The Hyderabad court on Monday deferred the hearing of the bail plea of Ramalinga Raju to January 16.

Besides Ramalinga Raju, the court also deferred the hearing of the bail plea of Ramalinga''s brother Rama Raju and Satyam''s Chief Financial Officer Vadlamani Srinivas.

All are in judicial custody till January 23 and have been lodged in the Chanchalguda Central Prison.

The Security and Exchange board of India (SEBI), which had also filed petition for quizzing Raju and the two others while they are in judicial custody, has been told by the court to defer it till the same date.

Raju''s lawyer Bharat Kumar told reporters that a team of 25 lawyers has been put together to defend Raju and others.

Meanwhile, police stepped up their investigation into the case, having charged Ramalinga Raju and B. Rama Raju with criminal conspiracy and forgery after Raju admitted profits had been falsified for years and quit.

A case has been filed against Raju under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 477-a (fraudulent cancellation of securities) of IPC.

Raju had on Wednesday disclosed a financial fraud in the company to the tune of Rs 7,800 crore by inflating profits and showing fictitious assets where none existed.

The company''s scrip has fallen nearly 80 per cent since the revelation was made. (ANI)