COMPETITION LAW
CCI Approves Combination Involving Bhushan Power, JSW entities And JFE Steel
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on January 20 approved a proposed combination involving Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd, JSW Sambalpur Steel Ltd, JFE Steel Corporation and JSW Kalinga Steel Ltd. The approval relates to a multi-step transaction involving the transfer of Bhushan Power and Steel's steel business undertaking, and not the company itself, as well as the acquisition of a stake by a foreign partner. As part of the approved transaction, Bhushan Power and Steel's steel business...
Supreme Court Dismisses Byju Raveendran's Appeal Against NCLAT Order Mandating CoC Nod For BCCI's Plea To Withdraw CIRP
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by Byju Raveendran, suspended director and promoter of Think and Learn Private Ltd (which ran the Ed-Tech firm Byju's), challenging an order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal which held that the approval of the Committee of Creditors is necessary for the application filed by the BCCI to withdraw the insolvency proceedings against Byju's.A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Vishwanathan dismissed the appeal....
Competition Commission Finds Basketball Federation Of India Prima Facie Liable For Abuse Of Dominance And Anti-Competitive Arrangements, Directs Investigation
Competition Commission of India (“Commission”) bench, comprising Ms. Ravneet Kaur (Chairperson), Ms. Sweta Kakkad (Member) and Mr. Deepak Anurag (Member) has passed a prima facie order directing an investigation against the Basketball Federation of India (“BFI”) for abuse of its dominant position and engaging in anti-competitive practices. Background Facts Elite Pro Basketball Private Limited (Informant) planned to launch a national 5x5 professional basketball league and signed around...
CCI Has No Power to Investigate Disputes Concerning Abuse Of Patents: NCLAT
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday reaffirmed that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has no authority to investigate disputes involving the exercise of patent rights, holding that such matters fall exclusively under the Patents Act, 1970.The tribunal said that when a product is protected by a patent, issues related to its pricing or licensing must be addressed under patent law and not under competition law. A coram of Judicial Member Justice Yogesh Khanna...
CCI Dismisses Abuse Of Dominance Complaint Against Google Over Play Store Ban
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday dismissed a complaint filed by Liberty Infospace Pvt. Ltd. against Google, ruling that the tech giant did not abuse its dominant position by terminating the company's developer account on the Google Play Store.The Commission found no prima facie violation under Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002, and closed the case without directing an investigation.The form-member coram of the commission, comprising Chairperson Ravneet Kaur and Members...
TRAI And CCI Are Sectoral Regulators With Defined Jurisdictions, Any Overlap Will Not Oust Jurisdiction Of Either: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court recently passed a judgment clarifying the scope and jurisdiction of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).Justice D.K. Singh in his 142 page judgment laid down the position of law while hearing Writ Petitions stating an alleged 'conflict' of jurisdiction between the two regulatory bodies. The court observed that CCI is a sectoral regulator, so far as it relates to the curbing of anticompetitive practices in India...
Google Abused Dominant Position Through Restrictive App Store Billing Policy But Didn't Deny Market Access: NCLAT Reduces Penalty From ₹936 Cr To ₹216 Cr
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), New Delhi bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan (Chairperson) and Mr. Barun Mitra (Technical Member) has partially upheld the decision of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that Google leveraged its dominance in the Play Store ecosystem to promote Google Play which violates section 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act, 2002. The Tribunal however held that there was no violation of section 4(2)(c) as conduct of Google did not deny market...
CCI Imposes ₹40 Lakh Penalty On Goldman Sachs For Failure To Notify Investment In Biocon Biologics U/S 6(2) Of Competition Act
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has penalized Goldman Sachs INR 40 lakh under Section 43A of the Competition Act, 2002, for failing to notify its investment in Biocon Biologics Limited.Background FactsGoldman Sachs AIF Scheme-1 (GS AIF) executed a Securities Subscription Agreement and a Shareholders Agreement (SHA) on 7.11.2020, and closed the transaction on 9.12.2020. Under the SHA, GS AIF gained Reserved Matter Rights, Information Rights and Access Rights. GS AIF is an investment...
IBC | For Resolution Plan Involving Combination, Prior Approval Of Competition Commission Mandatory Before CoC Examination : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on January 29, by 2:1 majority, observed that a resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, containing a proposed combination(a merger or amalgamation of entities), should only be placed before the Committee of Creditors (CoC), after it has been approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).In this regard, the Court referred to Section 31(4) proviso of the IBC. This proviso talks about the approval of the resolution plan and its proviso reads as:“Provided...
NCLAT Stays Ban on WhatsApp's Data-Sharing Policy; Orders Meta To Pay 50% Of ₹213 Crore Penalty
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan (Chairperson) and Arun Baroka (Technical Member) has granted partial relief to WhatsApp from the Competition Commission India's (CCI) order against its 2021 privacy policy update.The CCI had banned WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for advertising purposes for 5 years and imposed a Rs. 213.14 crore penalty for violating sections 4(2)(c) and 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act by using its dominant position to...
Competition Commission Closes Complaint Against Honda Motorcycle Filed By Former Dealer, Holds Dispute To Be Commercial In Nature
The Competition Commission of India (Commission) bench, comprising Ms. Ravneet Kaur (Chairperson), Mr. Anil Agrawal (Member), Ms. Sweta Kakkad (Member) and Mr. Deepak Anurag (Member) has closed the complaint filed against Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India by its former dealer. The bench found that the facts of the complaint pertain to commercial disputes arising from the agreement and are not related to anti-competitive practices. Background Facts In 2016, the Informant sought a...
Competition Commission Dismisses Allegations of Bid Rigging In Bareilly Nagar Nigam Tender
The Competition Commission of India presided by Mr. Ravneet Kaur, Mr. Anil Agrawal, Ms. Shweta Kakkad and Mr. Deepak Anurag rejected allegations of anti-competitive practices in the tender process of Bareilly Nagar Nigam and found no merit in the bid rigging complaint. Brief Facts of the Case The informant, Mr. Harish Kumar, is engaged in the business of advertisement and publicity. He alleged bid rigging and anti-competitive practices in a tender floated by Bareilly Nagar Nigam...