Mumbai, May 26 -- The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a possible settlement in the 13-year-old KG-D6 gas migration dispute by allowing a Reliance Industries Ltd-led consortium and the Union government to pursue conciliation, days after initially declining a similar request.

After five days of hearings, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi accepted Reliance's plea for conciliation, counsel for the Reliance-led consortium told Mint.

Attorney general R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, said the government was willing to consider a fresh request for conciliation, PTI reported.

The nearly $3-billion dispute centres on allegations by the Cent...