The Supreme Court Friday referred the dispute between the Centre and Reliance Industries Limited-led consortium over gas migration in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin, off the Andhra Pradesh coast, to mediation.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai as the mediator after the two sides informed it that discussions had not reached anywhere.

Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, and Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal for the consortium urged the court to refer the matter to mediation to explore the possibility of a negotiated settlement.

Agreeing, the CJI said that Justice Desai would be the right person as she has immense experience in resolving commercial disputes.

“Both sides have requested adjournment from time to time to enable the parties to explore settlement. We are informed that they themselves have not been able to find a viable solution.…