Ruling in Anuj Kumar Bhati v Sony Entertainment TV (SET) & Ors, Delhi High Court recently held that neither the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969, nor the Competition Act, 2002, requires that an investigation by the director general be ordered when a complaint is received, unless a case is made for it.
The court was hearing a challenge to orders passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Competition Appellate Tribunal. The petition in Anuj Kumar Bhati centred on allegations that organizers of a popular television quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati, abused their dominant position and adopted unfair trade practices.
The competition authorities had dismissed the complaint against Sony Entertainment TV, holding that viewership figures did not show that the quiz show had a dominant position and so the company could not be accused of abuse of dominance.
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The petitioner, Bhati, had argued that the competition authorities could not dismiss his complaint without investigating it, more so as a division bench of Delhi High Court had in 2007 granted him the right to file a complaint with the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC).
The origins of this litigation lie in an earlier petition filed in 2006 in Delhi High Court, which had subsequently been transferred to the MRTPC. When the Competition Act came into force it was assigned to the Competition Appellate Tribunal.
Around this time Bhati filed a separate complaint to the CCI under section 19 of the act. The CCI dismissed this complaint in March and Bhati had appealed it.
The Competition Appellate Tribunal had dismissed the two petitions – the original petition that had come to it from the MRTPC and the appeal against the CCI order – in July and August respectively.
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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.
