NCLAT UPHOLDS CCI'S CLOSURE OF ABUSE OF DOMINANCE AND
BID-RIGGING ALLEGATIONS IN MSM PROJECT
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT/Tribunal), by its judgment dated 20 January
2026, dismissed an appeal filed by Apaar Infratech Private Limited
(Informant/Appellant) challenging the Competition Commission of
India's (CCI) order dated 24 August 2022, which had closed the
information under Section 26(2) of the Competition Act, 2002
(Act).
The Informant alleged the abuse of dominant position and
collusive conduct in relation to the procurement of Crystalline
Durability Admixture (CDA) for the Nagpur–Mumbai Super
Communication Expressway Project (MSM Project), overseen by the
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC).
Informant alleged that MSRDC, by prescribing Indian Road Congress
(IRC) accreditation as an eligibility criterion and maintaining an
Identified Vendors List, had unfairly excluded competing suppliers
and facilitated