34 per unit after assigning 12 million units to a state-run power utility NTPC.

But Reliance Industries challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, which heard the case July 20 and fixed Sep 1 as the next date of hearing. It also asked all parties to file their replies on the government position on the matter by then.

The minister had earlier made a statement on the subject in the Lok Sabha Monday, which had not assuaged opposition members who disrupted parliament proceedings during the day.

'To say things like 'this fellow is in this fellow's pocket' will get us nowhere,' Deora said Thursday, referring to allegations that he was close to Mukesh Ambani.

Taking part in the discussion, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja said the government 'should not be at the mercy of anyone'.

'Does the government have that power?' he asked.

Interestingly, Parimal Nathwani, an independent member from Jharkhand, got up to participate in the debate even as he said that he had been associated with Reliance Industries.

'The company won in a global bid. ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corp) and Gail also took part in the bid. The contractor has no role in the pricing,' he asserted.