Supreme Court rejects Coal India's petition against CCI order
NEW DELHI: A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court has rejected a Coal India Ltd (CIL) plea in which the PSU had argued that it is outside the purview of the Competition Act. The three-judge bench comprising KM Joseph didn’t find merit in CIL’s contention that Competition Act will not apply to it as it is governed by the Nationalisation Act.
CIL had argued that the Nationalisation Act can’t be reconciled with the Competition Act. It contented that ‘the very purpose and policy underlying the Nationalization Act, was to monopolise the operation of coal mines and mining in the hands of the central government and its agencies’ such as CIL.
“It is not an ordinary monopoly,” said CIL in its submission. However, the three-judge bench rejected its argument. “Parliament has authored both the Nationalisation Act as also the (Competition) Act. There is no question of lack of legislative competence,” the court said while rejecting Coal India’s appeal.
CIL had moved the apex court against a Competition Appellate Tribunal order affirming an order by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which found the government-owned mining company involved in the abuse of its dominant position.
The CCI in its submission to the court had said that there is no conflict between the Nationalisation Act and the Competition Act in ‘keeping with the changing times and the imperative need to ensure the best economic interest of the nation’.