Asian Paints has alleged that officials have damaged its reputation by publishing and then deleting allegations against the CEO from the investigation order, report notes
Arguing that officials have damaged its reputation by publishing and then deleting allegations against the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from the investigation order, Asian Paints is now looking to quash the antitrust enquiry, Reuters reported.
The report noted that in a court challenge, Asian Paints told Mumbai Judges that the 1 July order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleged that the company’s CEO issued a warning to the raw material suppliers in a meeting that they would get less business from Asian Paints if they dealt with Birla.
However, the reference was removed within 24 hours and the CCI issued a new modified order, the company noted in a filing. Asian Paints emphasised that both orders were still online and the unexplained change was against legal norms, the report pointed out.
Alleging that the concurrent existence of two different orders created confusion in the market, the company said that it has undermined the integrity of the proceedings. The report further noted that the company alleged that the contents of the first impugned order had caused reputational damage.
After Birla Opus, the Paints venture of Aditya Birla Group, filed a complaint accusing Asian Paints of abuse of dominant position, the CCI has ordered a formal investigation against Asian Paints.
In an earlier development, CCI, in a 16-page order, said that commission is of the opinion that a prima facie case of contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(a)(i), 4(2)(c) and 4(2)(d) of the Act by Asian Paints is made out in the present matter. Asian Paints, by way of restraining its dealers from dealing with the its competitors by enforcing exclusivity upon such dealers is imposing unfair conditions upon them, which is found to be in the nature of exploitative conduct, CCI said. (With Reuters Inputs)
