The Supreme Court of India on Monday accepted a new request from Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) concerning the government’s demand of $2.81 billion for alleged pilferage of natural gas from an ONGC block in the KG Basin. RIL sought to resolve the dispute through bilateral negotiations with the government.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing RIL, presented the plea for conciliation. Attorney General R. Venkataramani confirmed that the government was open to considering this new request. The Chief Justice-led bench, which had previously refused to adjourn the hearing until July, agreed to delay the four-day hearing until the third week of July, in light of the Attorney General’s comments regarding the government’s willingness to pursue bilateral dispute resolution.
“We would be most happy if the dispute is resolved through conciliation. If you reach a settlement, we will dispose of the appeal,” the Bench noted. Last Wednesday, RIL had made two separate attempts to persuade the bench to postpone the hearing, but the Attorney General had emphasized the need to conclude the hearing regarding RIL’s appeal against the Delhi High Court judgment.
