NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped a penalty of Rs 14 crore on Jaiprakash Associates for abusing its dominant market position by imposing “unfair”, “one-sided” and “discriminatory” conditions on home buyers, eight years after receiving complaint from a home buyer.
“It is clear that the terms and conditions ... are unfair and one-sided and are couched in a manner so as to unilaterally favour the OP (Jaiprakash Associates) and be unfavourable to the consumers. Moreover, the allotment letter executed by the OP is vague and does not confer any substantive rights on the buyers.” the CCI order said. It further imposed a penalty of Rs 13.82 crore — 5 per cent of turnover earned by the firm during 2009-10 to 2011-12.
The ruling came on a complaint filed by one Naveen Kataria in 2011. Kataria wished not to pursue the case in February 2019, since all the pending disputes were settled. However, complaints filed under the specific section under the Competition Act, couldn’t be withdrawn.