Telangana High Court Stalls CCI Probe Against GMR Airport And Aerotech

Telangana High Court Stalls CCI Probe Against GMR Airport and Aerotech

Earlier, the writ petition challenging the investigation for alleged abuse of market power was dismissed

The Telangana High Court has stayed the February 2024 order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for two weeks and the recent investigation report against the GMR Hyderabad International Airport and GMR Aero Technic Ltd.

GMR had pleaded before the CCI seeking quashing of proceedings on the ground that the complainant Air Works India, an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul service provider entered a settlement agreement with GMR International Airport.

However, the CCI declined to take the settlement between GMR International Airport and Air Works on record. Subsequently, the GMR challenged the CCI order before the high court.

The order issued by the single-judge bench of Justice Surepalli Nanda stated, “This court is prima facie of the view that once a settlement has been reached between the informant and the person against whom the information is filed, the very substratum of the proceedings by CCI is lost.”

It added, “The issue needs examination in detail on the jurisdiction of the CCI to proceed further. Therefore, there shall be a stay of all further proceedings for two weeks from today.”

It was the second time the GMR approached the high court.

In October 2022, the court had dismissed the writ petition filed by GMR challenging the CCI investigation for alleged abuse of market power. On information filed by Air Works, the CCI had passed an order in October 2019 finding GMR to have prima facie contravened the Competition Act, 2002 provisions, prohibiting abuse of the dominant position.

In 2019, the GMR had challenged the CCI order before the court and obtained an interim stay on the probe.