New Delhi, Oct 30 : The Supreme Court of India has appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai as the sole mediator to resolve the long-standing Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin gas migration dispute involving Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited, Niko (NECO) Limited and the Central Government.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, passed the order on Friday, October 30, after being informed that the parties had failed to reach an acceptable solution to the dispute.
Two Domain Experts to Assist the Mediator
The Supreme Court suggested appointing Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai as the mediator to facilitate an amicable settlement between the parties.
The bench also requested that two domain experts assist the mediator in the process. The experts will be selected based on suggestions from the parties involved in the dispute.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, representing the Central Government, assured the court that the Centre would extend full cooperation to the mediation process.
The Supreme Court further asked all parties to contact Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai on Friday or by Saturday and finalise a convenient date and time for the mediation proceedings.
Supreme Court Earlier Rejected Reliance’s Request to Pause Hearing
On May 20, the Supreme Court had declined Reliance Industries’ request to keep the hearing on hold temporarily.
At the time, Reliance Industries and two other foreign companies had sought mediation or conciliation with the Central Government to find an amicable solution to the Krishna-Godavari basin gas migration dispute.
However, the court did not agree to suspend the proceedings at that stage.
Background of the KG Basin Gas Migration Dispute
The case involves a dispute over the migration of natural gas between different hydrocarbon blocks in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
Reliance Industries Limited, BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited and Niko (NECO) Limited challenged a Delhi High Court verdict that set aside an arbitral award previously passed in their favour.
The companies filed appeals before the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision in their dispute with the Central Government.
With the appointment of Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai as the sole mediator, the Supreme Court has now opened a fresh opportunity for the parties to resolve the long-running KG basin gas migration dispute through mediation.
