Supreme Court Justice SS Nijjar, who on Monday appointed a former Australian Supreme Court judge as the chief of three arbitrators to settle a $1.8bn dispute between Reliance Industries and the government, has withdrawn the suggestion.

The problem, said Nijjar, agreeing with objections from the government, was that James Spigelman's name was on a list of preferred arbitrators that had been prepared by Reliance, holding: "Although two lists have been duly supplied by the learned counsel for the parties, I am of the opinion, in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, it would be appropriate if an individual not named by any of the parties is appointed as the third arbitrator. I have discretely conducted a survey to find a suitable third arbitrator who is not a national of any of the parties involved in the dispute." [PTI] [Original appointment of 31 March]