New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court is expected to conclude hearing the high-profile Krishna-Godavari gas dispute between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) next week, sources in the registrar’s office said Thursday.
The hearing was called off Wednesday and Thursday owing to the indisposition of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan. The three-member bench, which has been hearing the case for eight weeks now, includes Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice P. Sathasivam.

Court officials told IANS that the bench may resume the hearings Tuesday afternoon and follow that up with full sessions Thursday and Friday. There is unlikely to be any hearing Wednesday, as some other matters could be up before Chief Justice Balakrishnan.

The chief justice is likely to be discharged from Apollo Hospital in a couple of days, after he was admitted for a suspected case of food poisoning, the officials added.

The three-member bench has been hearing the dispute over the supply of 28 million units of gas for 17 years at $2.34 per unit to Anil Ambani-led RNRL from the gas fields awarded to Mukesh Ambani’s RIL.

The price, tenure and quantity were based on a pact in the Ambani family entered in 2005 but RIL later said it will only sell gas for $4.20 per unit to RNRL, claiming this was the consideration fixed by the government.

The Bombay High Court had earlier ruled in RNRL’s favour.