Delhi:
The Supreme Court today expressed its displeasure over comments made by Law Minister Salman Khurshid on the telecom scam and other cases of corruption that are being handled by the Supreme Court. Mr Khurshid has said that if renowned businessmen are jailed, foreign investment in the country will be affected. "Are we wasting our time?" asked the Supreme Court in response today. The judges hearing the case told the CBI today, "If reports of the minister's comments are true, it is disturbing...are you supporting the stand (of the minister)?"
Mr Khurshid told NDTV this evening that he does not regret the remarks that triggered today's controversy and that they do not reflect the opinion of the government.
(Watch)On October 10, the Indian Express quoted Mr Khurshid as saying, "What will affect the functioning of the government is if other institutions do not understand the kind of political economy we are faced with today: what is needed to encourage growth and investment? If you lock up top businessmen, will investment come? "
The court is monitoring the CBI's investigation for the telecom scam, estimated to be India's largest swindle. 17 people have been arrested so far, including former telecom Minister A Raja and several executives from some of India's biggest telecoms. "Are we interested in keeping them?" asked the judges, still referring to Mr Khurshid's remarks. "You file a memo to release them, we will release them." The court's comments came during a hearing for bail for some of those in jail, including Sanjay Chandra, former chairman of Unitech Wireless.
The court also took exception to reports that the CBI has said it will not oppose the request for bail made by Kanimozhi, the DMK leader who was arrested in May in connection with the telecom scam. Last week, sources in the CBI said they would no longer ask a special court hearing the telecom case to reject Kanimozhi's bail application. The CBI today denied these reports.
Kanimozhi's bail application will be heard on Monday. She has argued that because she is a woman and needs to look after her young son, she should be allowed to go home. Kanimozhi is the daughter of M Karunanidhi, who heads the DMK, a major ally in the UPA coalition at the Centre.