CCI verdicts fail to act as deterrents to malpractice

Five years on, that CCI verdict has lost most of its sting after being tossed back and forth between various courts. Pending judicial decisions has decided a similar fate for most penalties imposed by the commission since its inception in 2009.

After levying fines of Rs 13,981 crore since inception, the CCI has only recovered Rs 96 crore till March 2016. In fact, even its very first landmark verdict against real estate developer DLF NSE 1.75 % for Rs 630 crore continues to linger in Supreme Court. The same is true of a Google verdict, in what was a breakthrough report from the commission ahead of global counterparts, who were also investigating the technology giant for monopoly practices.

Desai’s case too is languishing. “It started out well, but penalties are still stuck in court processes. As a result, cement prices in India are still nearly double those in neighbouring countries,” says Raju John, executive secretary, Builders Association of India, which had backed Desai to take on the strong cement lobby against cartelisation. Today, the decision on the penalty is still awaited from higher courts.