Kingfisher withdraws petition against CCI

Kingfisher Airlines Ltd yesterday withdrew a petition it had filed in the Supreme Court against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) probe into its two-year-old strategic deal with Jet Airways (India) Ltd.

The airline had moved the apex court following against a probe by CCI in May after it lost an appeal in the Bombay high court.

The bench, headed by chief justice SH Kapadia, refused to admit the airline's case saying the CCI was entitled to investigate the matter.

''The DG (director general of CCI) is entitled to ask you for any paperwork,'' Kapadia told Kingfisher's lawyers.

The court's stance underlines the powers, functions and jurisdiction of the newly established watchdog, and establishes the legal position of the CCI to investigate agreements that pre-date the Competition Act of 2009.

This follows a landmark ruling on 9 September in which the apex court held entities being investigated devoid of any right to be heard while CCI decided on the legitimacy of complaints involving them. According to the ruling, the appeals body, the Competition Appellate Tribunal could only hear cases in which CCI has passed its orders.