Ruling that “the game of cricket and the monetary benefits of playing professional league matches must be spread out”, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) recently imposed a penalty of ₹522.4 million (US$9.6 million) on India’s cricket control board for misusing its dominant position and indulging in anti-competitive practices.
Ruling in Sh Surinder Singh Barmi v Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), the CCI held that the BCCI, which is a de facto regulator of cricket and organizer of events, “has on account of role overlap restricted competition and the benefits of competition”.
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The CCI was acting on a complaint filed in November 2010, by Surinder Singh Barmi, a cricket fan, regarding the organization of the Indian Premier League, alleging irregularities in the grant of franchise rights for team ownership, the grant of media rights for coverage of the league, and the award of sponsorship rights and other local contracts.
Rejecting the BCCI’s contention that it is not an enterprise for the purposes of the Competition Act, 2002, and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the commission, the CCI held that the board was in a dominant position in the market for organizing private professional league cricket events in India owing to its “regulatory role, monopoly status, control over infrastructure, control over players, ability to control entry of other leagues, historical evidences”.
The penalty imposed was 6% of the average annual revenue of the BCCI for the previous three years. The BCCI was directed to cease and desist from any practice that denies market access to potential competitors, and “to set up an effective internal control system to its own satisfaction, in good faith and after due diligence”.
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The update of court judgments is compiled by Bhasin & Co, Advocates, a corporate law firm based in New Delhi. The authors can be contacted at lbhasin@bhasinco.in or lbhasin@gmail.com. Readers should not act on the basis of this information without seeking professional legal advice.
