Guwahati, March 18 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Union Home and Finance Ministries to provide a clear explanation regarding the award of government contracts amounting to several hundred crores to the wife and family members of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna emphasized the need for transparency, stating, "We must have a clear-cut answer. who were the parties awarded these contracts? What was the process followed? If tenders were not invited, it must be clearly stated. Both ministries must come clean. We need to understand who is behind this."

The court has instructed the state government to file a detailed affidavit within five weeks, listing all parties involved i...