New Delhi, Jan. 30 -- Bengaluru: Less than five weeks before the US trial of a six-year-old case begins to determine whether two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTS) routed illicit payments through Larsen and Toubro Ltd to unnamed Indian government officials, it is unclear if an ex-Cognizant executive, the US government's "essential witness" will travel to testify when the case starts on 3 March.

The testimony of Srimanikandan Ramamoorthy, 51, a Chennai resident termed an essential witness by the US Department of Justice, is critical, according to two lawyers directly privy to the case proceedings, as he is the only witness said to have discussed the alleged $2 million bribe payment with executives of L&T and f...