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Now, it is well accepted that to understand the competition law and its application, an understanding of economics is certainly an asset if not necessarily a prerequisite. It is a fact that the Competition Act, 2002 (the Act) liberally draws upon and uses different economics concepts and terms such as ‘predatory price’, ‘barrier to entry’, ‘market share’, ‘extent of vertical integration in the market’ and many other economic concepts and terms.
For any law, anywhere in the world or in India, be it the Indian constitution or Indian Penal Code or the Code of Criminal Procedure, the black letter law is as important as judicial pronouncement which lay down precedents. The law, as laid down by the statute, gets continuously shaped, modified and evolved in the light of judicial pronouncements made by the courts from time to time. If we look at the Indian Constitution, we can easily understand that the meaning of certain words and phrases have undergone considerable changes depending on the interpretations made by different judicial authorities. As a live example, right to life is no more simply a right to merely live but a lot beyond. It does not merely means to be able to breathe and that too in some non-human form of existence. Today, with a number of pronouncements by the judiciary, it includes right to livelihood, human dignity and health . Indian competition law is no exception.
For any law, anywhere in the world or in India, be it the Indian constitution or Indian Penal Code or the Code of Criminal Procedure, the black letter law is as important as judicial pronouncement which lay down precedents. The law, as laid down by the statute, gets continuously shaped, modified and evolved in the light of judicial pronouncements made by the courts from time to time. If we look at the Indian Constitution, we can easily understand that the meaning of certain words and phrases have undergone considerable changes depending on the interpretations made by different judicial authorities. As a live example, right to life is no more simply a right to merely live but a lot beyond. It does not merely means to be able to breathe and that too in some non-human form of existence. Today, with a number of pronouncements by the judiciary, it includes right to livelihood, human dignity and health . Indian competition law is no exception.
In last seven years of enforcement of competition law in India-partial from 2009 till 2011 and full from 2011 onwards-despite substantial publicity of huge penalties imposed on enterprises belonging to diverse sectors such as pharmaceuticals, film industry, cement, housing and infrastructure, chemicals, stock exchanges, bids and auctions etc., it is still not uncommon for high judicial functionaries or the practitioners of law or even academician who have been in the legal profession for decades, to ask “what is competition law? ” The only familiarity, if at all, is displayed by them once they say, after hearing a bit about this new law, “is it the MRTPC Act?” On being explained further that the old MRTPC Act, 1969 stands repealed now and a new law, Competition Act, 2002, is in place they display a sense of, at least, perceived understanding.
