State of Haryana Vs J. K. Tyre & Industries Limited and Others (Competition Commission of India)
Summary: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) partly departed from the Director General’s findings in a reference initiated by the State of Haryana concerning alleged cartelisation in procurement of tyres by State Transport Undertakings. The case originated from Haryana Roadways’ 2018 tender, where J. K. Tyre & Industries Limited (OP-1) was the sole bidder in certain tenders and its quoted prices had increased substantially over earlier procurement rates. The DG ultimately concluded that J. K. Tyre, CEAT Limited (OP-2), Rekha Agencies (OP-9) and SS Marketing (OP-10) had engaged in cartelisation.
CCI, however, held that the evidence did not establish collusion by J. K. Tyre or CEAT. There was no direct communication between their officials and no evidence that their key managerial personnel participated in, approved or knew about the exchange of bid information between Rekha Agencies and SS Marketing. CCI consequently found no contravention by J. K. Tyre and CEAT and held that liability under Section 48 did not arise against Dr. Raghupati Singhania or Shri Anant Vardhan Goenka. The ruling reinforces that suspicious bidding patterns or higher prices, without evidence establishing an agreement or coordination, are insufficient by themselves to establish bid rigging. This approach is consistent with CCI decisions recognising that high tender success or bidding patterns alone cannot establish collusion and that business linkages without evidence of collusion are insufficient.
