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KG Basin dispute: Supreme Court appoints former Australian judge as arbitrator between RIL and govt

The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the decks for adjudication of dispute between Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Government of India over recovery of cost for developing the country's key natural gas field in KG Basin.

According to media reports, the apex court has appointed former judge of the High Court of Australia - Michael Hudson McHugh - as the third arbitrator to head the board of arbitrators to solve the KG Basin dispute.

The SC thus allowed RIL's plea for appointing an international arbitrator so as to remove any bias. The top court had earlier withdrawn its order appointing Australian judge James Spigelman as an arbitrator between RIL and Centre after the latter pointed out that the appointee figured in the India's largest conglomerate list of ordered arbitrator and hence someone else should be appointed.

Petroleum ministry and RIL are locked in a dispute over the recovery of cost for developing the country's key natural gas field in KG Basin. While RIL has been blaming geological factors for lower output, the ministry has sought to penalise the company for it. RIL had moved the SC seeking appointment of an arbitrator from a foreign country with which parties in disputes are not connected with.

Source-On Request