New Delhi, Aug. 22 -- The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that it would place on record the latest developments in the long-running dispute between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and the government over gas production and pricing from the Krishna-Godavari basin, bringing back into focus a case that has remained pending before the court for over a decade. The government's statement came as the court was hearing a batch of petitions, including those filed by former CPI leader and then MP Gurudas Dasgupta and NGO Common Cause, which raise questions relating to RIL's KG-D6 gas extraction, contractual obligations, gas pricing and alleged irregularities in expenditure and payments to contractors. A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, was told by Attorney General R Venkataramani that the government would file a report apprising the court of developments since 2018, when the matter was last taken up. The submission came after advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Common Cause, urged the bench to ask the Centre to clarify where the issues raised in the petitions presently stood. The Attorney General said there was no need for a specific direction when the government itself was willing to place the latest position before the court. The proceedings revive a dispute that reached the SC in 2013, when Dasgupta challenged the then UPA government's decision to almost double the price of natural gas from $4.2 to $8.4 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) from April 2014. Dasgupta's petition had also sought cancellation of RIL's contract for exploration of oil and gas from the KG basin and alleged that the government had failed to conduct adequate due diligence before deciding to hike the price. He had alleged that the petroleum ministry was also stalling arbitration proceedings seeking recovery of about $1 billion from RIL for alleged violations of contractual obligations relating to gas production. The Centre had rejected the allegations at the time, maintaining that RIL itself had invoked arbitration in November 2011 and that the government had subsequently decided, on the advice of the Solicitor General, to participate in the proceedings. The petroleum ministry had also denied allegations that the then petroleum minister had intervened to favour RIL....