SC upholds NCLAT order setting aside CCI's ₹301.6-crore penalty on Grasim Industries
The Supreme Court of India has upheld an NCLAT order setting aside a ₹301.6 crore penalty imposed on Grasim Industries by the Competition Commission of India. The court ruled that the CCI failed to provide the company with a fair opportunity to respond to findings that differed from the Director General's initial report.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces the importance of procedural fairness and due process in regulatory investigations involving corporate antitrust allegations.
The Supreme Court on Friday (July 31, 2026) upheld an NCLAT order that set aside a ₹301.6 crore penalty imposed on Grasim Industries by the Competition Commission of India and directed the fair trade regulator to hear the Aditya Birla Group firm again over its alleged dominance in the viscose staple fibre market.
A Bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran dismissed the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) appeal challenging the May 5 NCLAT order.
The tribunal had observed that the CCI did not provide a chance to Grasim Industries to present its arguments after it differed from the findings of the Director General (DG), the regulator’s probe unit.
The CCI had imposed the penalty on Grasim Industries in March 2020 for allegedly abusing its dominant position with respect to the supply of viscose staple fibre (VSF) to spinners in India.
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