CCI order set aside due to violations of natural justice

The Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT), in a judgment on 23 February, held that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) must follow the principles of natural justice when discharging its statutory functions under the Competition Act, 2002.

Impugned order

The appeal before the COMPAT was filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against a CCI order in February 2013 imposing a penalty of ₹522.4 million (US$8.5 million) against BCCI for abusing its dominant position.

The CCI held that BCCI was dominant in the “market for organization of private professional cricket leagues/events in India” and that it had abused its dominant position in terms of a media agreement (with Multi Screen Media) whereby BCCI had committed to not organize, sanction, recognize or support any professional domestic Indian cricket T20 tournament which competed with the Indian Premier League (during the 10-year term of the agreement).

Although the CCI’s order was challenged on several grounds, BCCI argued that the order should be set aside on account of violation of the principles of natural justice alone. In a detailed judgment delivered by the chairman of the COMPAT, the COMPAT agreed with BCCI, set aside CCI’s order and reiterated the well-established principles of natural justice in the context of the CCI’s functioning.

Amit Tambe is a partner at Trilegal and Gautam Chawla is an associate. The views expressed are their personal views. Trilegal is a full-service law firm with offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.