(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Friday criticised Telecoms Minister Kapil Sibal for his comments over what is seen as the country's biggest corruption case, the latest in a series of censures by the top court that has embarrassed the government.
The Supreme Court said it was "unfortunate" that Sibal had dismissed a state auditor's report that India may have lost $39 billion in revenue as a result of irregularities in awarding telecoms licences in 2008."Sibal should bear some responsibility ... The investigation should not be influenced by his comments," judges said, referring to a criminal probe underway.
The scandal has deadlocked politics in Asia's third-largest economy, with the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vowing to block the February session of parliament, in which the budget is due to be debated, if a joint parliamentary committee does not investigate the case.
The court's adverse remarks put Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government further on the defensive. His coalition government is also under pressure to address high food prices, another distraction from a programme of economic reforms.
On Wednesday, while dealing with another case, the top court asked why the government could not name people who had hidden illegal wealth in offshore accounts, calling it a plunder of the nation's wealth.
Earlier, it tried to force the government to release foodgrain stocks to feed the poor. It also asked Singh what he did to prevent the telecoms scandal.
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