India's huge corruption trial focuses on bail pleas

NEW DELHI - Five senior business executives fought to win bail amid chaotic court proceedings on Friday in a trial over India's biggest corruption scandal, which has strained Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition and hurt investor sentiment.

Lawyers wrangled over the sloppy quality of the documents presented to the court in New Delhi as policemen milled around former telecoms minister Andhimutu Raja, the man at the center of the $39 billion scandal.

The court will rule on the bail applications of officials from the Indian joint ventures of Norway's Telenor, the United Arab Emirates' Etisalat and from India's Reliance ADA group, owned by tycoon Anil Ambani, who is named in the case. Raja and the executives are charged with manipulating the grants of telecoms licenses in the world's fastest-growing telecoms market, causing a potential loss of $39 billion to the government.