Khaitan & Co LLP continues to be a heavyweight player in the competition law market, advising domestic and multinational entities and representing government enterprises and public sector giants. Headed by Manas Kumar Chaudhuri, who has 22 years’ experience in competition law, the team also attracts regulatory mandates and provides advice concerning the International Competition Network. On the merger control side of the practice, Anisha Chand has a wealth of experience in securing unconditional clearances for mergers, and in enforcement cases, while associate Swati Bala handles high-stakes merger deals to assist in securing unconditional clearance. Sagardeep Rathi specialises in merger control, compliance and defending clients in bid rigging and cartel cases, and Pranjal Prateek has expertise in enforcement matters, with knowledge spanning an array of industries.

The team at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co handles the full spectrum of competition and antitrust matters for domestic and international clients, consistently delivering ‘cutting-edge‘ advice. John Handoll and Pallavi Shroff co-head the practice; Shroff has extensive experience in representing public and private entities, and Handoll has over 40 years’ experience in practicing competition law in India. Shweta Shroff Chopra draws on more than 18 years of experience in advising on corporate and competition matters, resulting in her practice featuring a blend of merger control and enforcement, areas in which Manika Brar is also an expert. In addition, Brar handles abuse of dominance matters alongside Naval Chopra. Harman Singh Sandhu is well versed in defending large multinational companies in high-profile cartel enforcement cases involving elements of leniency, and represents clients in abuse of dominance cases. With ‘unparallelled‘ expertise and ‘deep understanding‘, Yamam Verma handles major investigations into digital markets, cartels, abuse of dominance and enforcement cases.

Noted for its ‘excellent‘ understanding and exposure, the team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas handles a combination of enforcement and merger-related matters for large corporates across a myriad of sectors; the department’s combined sectoral experience encompasses the automotive, real estate, telecoms and energy sectors, to name a few. Avaantika Kakkar advises on complex merger filings and provides strategic support with dawn raids, utilising her breadth of experience in investigations spanning the alcohol, pharmaceutical and white goods sectors, among others. Dhruv Rajain focuses on providing advice on risk assessment, enforcement and compliance matters, in addition to filing pre-merger notifications with the CCI. Kirthi Srinivas handles leniency application filings and forensic investigations, and often defends clients against cartel allegations. Anshuman Sakle has left the practice.

Drawing on ‘a deep, working knowledge‘ of the antitrust and competition legislative environment, DSK Legal‘s practice focuses on investigative matters relating to cartelisation and bid rigging, as well as merger control. Anand Desai leads the team and often provides advice on merger control, investigations and policy formation matters, assisting domestic corporates in the liquor, media and logistics sectors, among others. Associate partner Abhishek Singh Baghel has over 11 years’ experience in advising and representing trading houses and multilateral institutions in litigious, compliance and advisory matters before the CAT, High Courts and the Supreme Court, and has also acted for the CCI in disputes. A team from L&L has greatly enlarged the practice, these include Abdullah Hussain, Kanika Chaudhary Nayar and Kunal Mehra.

The team at JSA Law provide clients with advice on cartelisation and litigious antitrust matters, in addition to merger filings. Mumbai-based partner Farhad Sorabjee leads the team and handles merger control issues. Vaibhav Choukse and associate Ela Bali support the team from New Delhi and have a great deal of expertise in handling contentious abuse of dominance cases.

The competition law team at Luthra and Luthra Law Offices India handles the full spectrum of antitrust matters, covering abuse of dominance issues, cartel investigations, merger control and leniency proceedings. G.R. Bhatia pilots the practice, drawing on his ‘in-depth subject knowledge‘ and experience as a former additional director general of the CCI alongside managing associate Arjun Nihal Singh. Rudresh Singh handles significant cross-border merger control matters, with notable sectoral expertise covering the alcoholic beverages, aviation and shipping sectors, among others.

The aviation-focused practice at Dentons Link Legal handles investigation matters before the CCI, and advises on vertical agreements and cartelisation issues. Led by Atul Sharma, the team advises large airlines and companies in the health, hygiene and technology sectors. Associate Ashly Cherian often represents clients before the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT), supporting Abhishek Sharma in acting for domestic and overseas clients in arbitration proceedings and before the CCI.

Dua Associates‘ practice undertakes a full range of competition matters, advising clients on merger control notifications, cartel investigations, compliance programmes and anti-competitive agreements. The team combines its experience across the power and renewable energy, pharmaceutical and paper industry sectors, among others. With a specialisation in competition law and policy, Gautam Shahi leads the practice, often assisting with the creation of compliance programmes for corporate houses, and also represents clients before the CCI, NCLAT, High Courts and the Supreme Court. Robin David is a commercial dispute resolution specialist, often advising international non-governmental organisations. Febin Mathew supports David on the litigation side of the practice, using his multi-sectoral experience within competition law.

IndusLaw‘s ‘intelligent, thorough and friendly‘ team is well versed in a variety of competition matters, including compliance issues, anti-competitive agreements and the leniency regime. Unnati Agrawal advises banks, financial institutions and large corporations on a full scope of competition law issues, including allegations of cartelisation and abuse of dominant position. Avimukt Dar handles litigious matters within the practice alongside Agrawal. Senior associate Parth Sehan advises domestic and overseas companies on enforcement and merger control issues spanning a myriad of sectors, covering natural gas, broadcasting and film, automobile and information technology.

The competition practice at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan focuses on representing clients in litigation and investigations before the CCI, the NCLAT, the High Courts and the Supreme Court. The team regularly advises on anti-competitive agreements, bid rigging, vertical agreements and abuse of dominance matters. Charanya Lakshmikumaran leads the team, which includes Neelambera Sandeepan, who often defends large corporates in high-stakes cartel investigations across the aviation, e-commerce and auto components sectors.

The ‘first class‘ practice at P&A Law Offices frequently assists domestic companies and multinational corporations across the retail, automobile and manufacturing sectors. Anand Pathak heads the practice alongside the ‘extremely diligent and detail oriented’ Sreemoyee Deb, and Shashank Gautam. Gautam is a corporate and regulatory law expert, while Deb is a competition law specialist who handles abuse of dominance and merger control matters before the CCI. Associate partner Anubhuti Mishra represents clients in enforcement, gun-jumping and cartelisation matters.

The talented team at Samvad Partners takes a multi-sectoral approach, with expertise in the healthcare, real estate, chemicals and telecoms sectors, to name a few. Arjun Krishnan leads the team from New Delhi, drawing on his specialised knowledge of competition law and disputes; he often advises on investigations into large e-commerce retailers. Vineetha MG handles merger control and abuse of dominance matters, advising domestic and multinational clients on regulatory issues, and supporting the team from Mumbai. Principal associate Ankur Singh handles dispute resolution and competition matters, with an emphasis on cartel cases.

The competition law team at Veritas Legal directs its focus towards transactions and filings under the merger control regime, frequently serving corporates in the pharmaceuticals, healthcare and insurance sectors. Rahul Dwarkadas heads the practice and regularly handles competition disputes and regulatory matters. Principal associate Zenia Cassinath advises on merger control for domestic and international clients across a variety of sectors, including the logistics, wholesale cash and carry, dairy and real estate sectors.