And others shall bite the dust !! What with the CCI initiating suo moto investigation against milk retailers, not to mention, to quote Mr. Chawla, Chairman of CCI

 “Real estate, pharmaceuticals, aviation, telecom and tyre industries are on our radar. The inquiry against tyre companies is in an advanced stage and a decision can be expected soon”

The CCI has a busy monsoon ahead !! However, the intention of this post is to specifically focus on the investigation by the DG against automobile companies.  Assuming the facts in the article are true, and please note, the opinion is based strictly on the article’s contents, the odds seem to be heavily stacked against the respondents. Such agreements are unanimously considered as anti-competitive throughout all jurisdictions (See Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Tech. Svcs., 504 US 451 (1992) and Standard Oil Co. of California v. United States337 US 293 (1949) ). Also, see COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 461/2010 of 27 May 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices in the motor vehicle sector.

Closer to home, Both the cases of Tata Engineering & Locomotive Co. Ltd. v. Registrar of Restrictive Trade Practices, [1977] 2 SCR 685  and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd vs Union Of India & Anr, 1979 SCR (2)1038 dealt with a similar issue.