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Cmpetition Commission cannot order for Investigation

Raj Kumar Makkad ,
  27 September 2010       Share Bookmark

Court :
Supreme Court of India
Brief :
Unfair Trade Practice - Use of Dominant Position in market to gain agreement - Deprivation of fair competition thereof - Challenge against thereto - Sections 26, 57 of Competition Act, 2002, - Competition Commission of India (General) Regulations, 2009 - Commission on complaint referred the matter to Director General for investigation and submission of the report - 1st Respondent challenged the direction of the Commission before the Appellate Tribunal - Commission filed an impleadment petition before the Appellate Tribunal and questioned the maintainability of appeal - Appellate Tribunal dismissed Commission's impleadment petition and held that present appeal was maintainable - Appellate Tribunal, further, held that Commission had failed to give reasons for the order and there was a violation of principles of natural justice - Whether direction of the Commission for investigation was appealable?
Citation :
Competition Commission of India v. Steel Authority of India Ltd. & Anr. (Decided on 09.09.2010)

Held, under Section 26(1) a direction simpliciter to cause an investigation into the matter. Issuance of such a direction is an administrative direction to one of its own wings departmentally and without entering upon any adjudicatory process and it does not effectively determine any right or obligation of the parties to the lis . On the other hand a mere direction for investigation to one of the wings of the Commission is akin to a departmental proceeding which does not entail civil consequences for any person, particularly, in light of the strict confidentiality that is expected to be maintained by the Commission in terms of Section 57 of the Act and Regulation 35 of the Regulations. In the course of the proceedings before the Commission, the Commission passes a direction or interim order which was at the preliminary stage and of preparatory nature without recording findings which will bind the parties and where such order will only pave the way for final decision, it would not make that direction as an order or decision which affects the rights of the parties and therefore, is not appealable . Under section 53A of the Act such orders cannot be held to be appealable which does not determine the rights of the parties. Therefore, Commission's order directing investigation not appealable under Section 53A(1)(a) of the Act .

 
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Published in Corporate Law
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