Challenging the Competition Precedent: A Critical Analysis of the Competition Commission Decision on Bharti Airtel Ltd. vs. Reliance Industries Ltd. & Anr.
JLU School of Law, Jagran Lakecity University, India
Volume III, Issue VI, 2020
Through this article the authors wish to critically challenge the precedent set by the Competition Commission of India in the case of Bharti Airtel Ltd. v. Reliance Industries Ltd. & Anr. The Competition Commission of India was established under The Competition Act, 2002. The main aim of this Act is to prevent practices which have an adverse effect on competition and to promote and sustain competition in the market. The authors have critically analyzed the order of The Competition Commission of India in the purview of the objective of The Competition Act, 2002, the principles of fair trade and the constitutional values that empower such principles. This article deals with two of the most important issues that ensure fair competition in the market, anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance.
This article entails a detailed criticism of the three basic contentions of the Informant i.e. Bharti Airtel and factually differs from the reasoning given by The Competition Commission of India. Further this article portrays the effects of this order and how it has helped change India. This article also depicts the negative impact of the order on the other pre-existing wireless telecom service providers. The authors have further traced the development of Reliance Jio, post the order of The Competition Commission of India and related it to highlight how the Reliance Jio’s latest venture Jio Fiber has eased the existing pandemic situation.
Keywords: Competition Commission of India, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Predatory Pricing, Abuse of dominance.