It was also clear Tuesday that the government had accepted the advice of two top law officers of the government who asked NTPC to move the apex court at the earliest to secure its interests in the gas row with Reliance Industries.

'We will be filing our special leave petition within the next six-seven days,' Power Secretary Brahma told reporters on the margins of a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

Attorney General Goolam E. Vahanvati and Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam had advised NTPC on the matter.

In June, the Bombay High Court asked Reliance Industries to supply 28 million units of gas from the KG fields to Reliance Natural Resources for 17 years at $2.34 per unit.

But Reliance Industries challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, which heard the case July 20 and fixed Sep 1 as the next date of hearing. The court also asked all parties to file their replies on the government position on the matter by then.

The petroleum ministry has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court with the plea that Krishna-Godavari gas was national property, even as the Bombay High Court was hearing the dispute between NTPC and Reliance Industries.