December 11,2018:

Bar Council of India has termed "Competition Commission of India (CCI) as forum for ‘luxurious litigation’.

It further added that as it is not headed by a former judge its orders involving corporate houses and crores of rupees are without competence and jurisdiction.

BCI Co-Chairman S Prabakaran called for necessary amendments to engage a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a high court as chairperson.

He has written to CCI and Centre pointing out that CCI was merely a successor of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission under the MRTP Act, 1969 which had an Ex-Judge as Chairperson.

BCI Co-Chairman stated that,“The present structure of CCI does not meet the constitutionally accepted stands of composition and functioning of a tribunal”, while adding that the director-general of CCI would be responsible only for investigation and prosecution of competition violations, besides other executive functions under the Act.

While citing Supreme Court judgments, Co-Chairman BCI stated that a tribunal discharging adjudicatory functions has to be necessarily headed by a person from judicial discipline.

He faulted an amendment Bill introduced in 2007, as sought to make the commission an expert body which would function as a market regulator for regulating and preventing anti-competitive practices, but dispensed the the MRTP Act’s requirement that it be headed by a retired or service judge of the Supreme Court or a high court.

Prabakaran said that,"Making CCI to function under an ex-judge would make it more equitable than the present forum".

Source TOI

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