Oslo, Mar 23 (IANS): Norwegian authorities have said they cannot hand over two Indian kids in foster care to their uncle because of reports of "conflicts" in the family.

A court hearing planned for Friday to decide the fate of the children has also been put off, the BBC reported Thursday.

New developments in the case make it impossible to carry out the hearing in Stavenger district court, scheduled for March 23, BBC quoted Stavenger City Council as saying.

This followed media reports of "marital problems" between the parents.

Local social services say the parents failed to look after their children. The parents deny this. The couple, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, say "cultural differences" led to the situation.

On Wednesday, Indian diplomats also put off a trip to Norway to monitor the court case for the custody of the children.

Three-year-old Abhigyan and one-year-old Aishwariya Bhattacharya were put in foster care by the Stavanger Child Welfare Service last May, after it felt they were at risk.

The case has received a lot of media attention in India and caused anger. This became a diplomatic issue between the two countries, with India saying the children should be allowed to live in their own cultural and linguistic environment.