Kartikeya Rawal Vs InterGlobe Aviation Limited (Competition Commission of India)
The Information was filed under Section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002 alleging contravention of Section 4 by a domestic airline on account of abuse of dominant position. The Informant stated that during the first week of December 2025, the airline cancelled hundreds of flights, causing large-scale disruption across the domestic aviation network and leaving lakhs of passengers stranded. According to the Informant, this disruption led to a sharp increase in airfares across sectors. In his own case, the Informant had booked a return journey for ₹7,173, which was cancelled a few hours prior to departure without any alternate arrangement. He was compelled to rebook after two days at a significantly higher fare of ₹17,000 on another flight of the same airline. This conduct was alleged to constitute abuse of dominance through cancellation of services followed by overcharging.
The Commission initially sought detailed information from the airline regarding market share, fleet deployment, route-wise cancellations, fare data, pricing practices and remedial measures. Simultaneously, information was sought from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on market structure, airline-wise capacity and passenger data, exclusive routes, revenue details and the extent of disruption during the relevant period. Instead of furnishing the requested data, the airline challenged the jurisdiction of the Commission, contending that the issues fell exclusively within the regulatory framework of the Bhartiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 and the Aircraft Rules, 1937, under the supervision of the DGCA. It was argued that airfare regulation, unfair practices and oligopolistic conduct in aviation were subject to sectoral oversight and that competition law intervention was impliedly excluded.
