On 15.06.2023, the Supreme Court of India (SCI) dismissed an appeal filed by the Coal India Ltd. (CIL) against the judgment given by the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) which affirmed the judgment of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The main bone of contention was the applicability of the Competition Act, 2002 (CCI Act) upon CIL. [Refer Coal India Limited and Another v. Competition Commission of India and Another, Civil Appeal No. 2845 of 2017] The Full-Bench (3-Judge Bench) of the SCI while hearing CIL’s appeal against the COMPAT’s order alleging CIL of abusing its position found that merely because CIL is created as a state monopoly by a Nationalisation Act and duty bound to achieve the objects declared in Article 39(b) of the Constitution cannot be a ground for excluding it from the purview of the CCI Act. The reasoning and finding of the judgment has been discussed in this case study.
