Ranjana Desai appointed sole mediator in Reliance KG basin gas dispute

The Supreme Court appointed former judge Ranjana Prakash Desai as sole mediator in the Krishna-Godavari basin gas migration dispute. The role extends her prominent post-retirement record across UCC panels and public institutions.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Oct 30, 2026 16:04 ISTFormer Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai was appointed the sole mediator in the Krishna-Godavari basin gas migration dispute involving Reliance Industries on Friday, news agency Press Trust of India reported.The appointment came on Justice Desai's 77th birthday. In recent years, she has also been chosen by several state governments to head committees tasked with drafting or reviewing a Uniform Civil Code.A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant appointed Justice Desai as the mediator in the high-value dispute involving the Centre and the Reliance-BP-Niko combine.Born on October 30, 1949, Justice Desai graduated in arts from Elphinstone College in 1970. She obtained her law degree from Government Law College, Bombay, in 1973 and joined the legal profession that year. She was appointed a judge of the Bombay High Court on April 15, 1996, and elevated to the Supreme Court on September 13, 2011. She retired on October 29, 2014.Justice Desai's work on the Uniform Civil Code began in Uttarakhand, where she headed an expert committee formed by the state government in May 2022 to prepare a report on its implementation. The report formed the basis of the state's legislation, which came into force on January 27, 2025, making Uttarakhand the first state to implement such a code, according to PTI.She later headed a high-level committee set up by the Gujarat government. Based on the panel's recommendations, the Gujarat Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill, which received presidential assent in September this year.In July 2026, the Maharashtra government appointed Justice Desai to lead a seven-member committee tasked with preparing a framework and recommendations for implementing a Uniform Civil Code in the state. The panel is expected to submit its report within six months.In the same month, she was appointed chairperson of a nine-member committee formed by the West Bengal government to examine and review the state's draft Uniform Civil Code.After retiring from the Supreme Court, Justice Desai headed the Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir. She was later appointed chairperson of the Press Council of India in 2022.Justice Desai's latest appointment as mediator in the Krishna-Godavari basin dispute follows her leadership of several state-level Uniform Civil Code committees and other public bodies after her retirement from the Supreme Court.- Ends