The Supreme Court on Monday agreed has agreed to hear an appeal by Meru Cabs against a decision of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), that had outrightly rejected their allegation against Ola cabs for predatory pricing.
The Mumbai based car service company Meru has accused Ola for unethical practice of predatory pricing in Bangaluru just to eliminate them from the market as Ola holds a dominant position in the city. They accused them of violating the terms of business pricing and competition law.
Way Back in 2017, the Competition Commission of India rejected the claim by Meru . The Director General investigated the matter and reported that OLA had no dominant position in Bengaluru.
NCLAT upheld the CCI ruling in January 2022, and Meru had to be before the Apex court.
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Presenting the case of Meru, the counsel said to the bench led by Justice L Nageswara Rao that Ola’s anti-competitive practices were adversely affecting the Meru and its employees. It also requested the court to reconsider the NCLAT’s decision.
The counsel of Ola’s countered this argument by saying that competition law applies only when the prerequisites like established dominant position of a player in the relevant market were met. The tribunals had in its investigation had found that Ola was not even in a dominant position, and abusing the dominant position was out of question.
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The apex court has given a yes for hearing the case and has issued a notice. It has decided to re check the of law pertaining to the abuse of dominant position as stated in the competition law.