New Delhi, July 14 -- The Supreme Court on Monday appointed its former judge, justice L Nageswara Rao, as mediator to explore the possibility of an amicable settlement in the decades-old property dispute involving members of the Kalyani family, whose ancestral wealth is estimated to be worth over Rs.1 lakh crore. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked the two sides to approach justice Rao during the course of the day so that mediation could commence from Tuesday. The court also directed that proceedings before the Bombay high court shall remain stayed and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks. The dispute pits industrialist and Bharat Forge chairman Baba Kalyani against his sister Sugandha Hiremath over the distribution of the Kalyani family's ancestral wealth, promoter holdings in listed companies and other family assets. Persuading the parties to give mediation another chance, CJI Kant remarked that even though an earlier attempt had failed, the intervention of the Supreme Court could make a difference. The present proceedings arise out of a suit seeking specific performance of a 1994 family arrangement. Senior advocates AM Singhvi and Aryama Sundaram appeared for Baba Kalyani and other respondents, while senior advocate Shyam Divan represented Hiremath. The bench proposed the name of justice Rao to facilitate negotiations. "We will ask Justice L Nageswara Rao to devote some time to this and hear both the sides," it said. Recording the consensus, the court said in its order: "We request justice Rao to act as a mediator. Senior counsels assure that they will contact Justice Rao today so that mediation can start from tomorrow." The dispute concerns the Kalyani family's assets, estimated at more than Rs.1 lakh crore, comprising family-owned properties and investments in several listed Kalyani Group companies....