The Supreme Court has dismissed the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) request to transfer cases related to steel cartelization from the Calcutta and Madras high courts. The CCI had sought to transfer the Writ Petitions filed by steel manufacturers to the apex court, arguing that the cases involve a question of law that should be settled by the top court. However, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, presiding over the case, emphasized the high court's authority to hear writ petitions and noted that they had already been hearing the cases for a considerable period of time.
The Madras High Court had directed the CCI to investigate allegations of cartelization by steel industries in July 2021, following a submission from the Coimbatore Corporation Contractors Welfare Association. The association claimed that steel manufacturers were manipulating the supply of steel, leading to artificial scarcities and price increases. The court had previously instructed the police and the CBI to conduct investigations into the matter.
In December 2022, the CCI conducted raids on the offices of small-scale steel companies in West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi, suspecting price collusion in steel products used in construction.
The steel companies involved, Shyam Steel Industries and Agni Steels, filed writ petitions in the Calcutta and Madras High Courts to challenge the CCI's investigation and quash the summons. The Calcutta High Court denied an interim order in favour of Shyam Steels, stating that there were no compelling reasons to interfere with the regulator's investigation and that the public interest necessitated the continuation of the inquiry. The proceedings before the Madras High Court, initiated by Agni Steels, are still pending.
During the recent hearing, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing the steel companies, appeared alongside law firm Khaitan and Co. Senior advocate Madhavi Divan represented the CCI. The Supreme Court upheld the jurisdiction of the high courts and declined to transfer the cases to the apex court, highlighting the importance of respecting the high court's authority to entertain writ petitions.
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