JURJ

Principle of locus standi before Competition Commission of India

Author: Dr. Shubhani Joshi

Abstract:

The general meaning of the term ‘locus standi’, in law, is ‘by what right’ or ‘by what authority’ one has appeared before the Court(s) of Law. In the Indian Law, a person who is aggrieved has the only right to appear before the courts of law and to contest his case. A person who is not aggrieved but want to contest on behalf of someone who is socially, educationally and economically backward person can file a public interest litigation or PIL. In this paper, I will be addressing the general principle of locus standi, the meaning that has been attributed to it and how the Locus Standi principle has been shifted when one approaches before the Competition Commission of India by way of filing information with regard to contravention of the provisions of Competition Act, 2002.

The nexus of the person and legal injury that was necessary before one approach the courts of law has been expanded in the competition matters by the Hon’ble Supreme Court by way of its judgment in Samir Agrawal vs CCI. The judgment upholds the order passed by Competition Commission of India on merits, however, upon the limited issue that ‘whether a person having no legal injury can also approach the Competition Commission’ or ‘who has the right to approach the Competition Commission’ it clearly held that ‘any person’, even if not aggrieved, can file information before the Commission.  This paper clearly contrasts the general principle of Locus Standi before the courts of law and the one that has been attributed to it by Hon’ble Supreme Court when one approached the Competition Commission of India. The general principle has been expanded and ‘any person’ irrespective of the legal injury caused has been given the right to file information before the Competition Commission of India by Hon’ble Supreme Court.