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2021 (6) TMI 1141 - HC - Companies LawDirecting an investigation under Section 26(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 - contravention of Section 3(1) read with Section 3(4) and Section 4(1) and 4(2) of the Competition Act - nature of the impugned order passed under Section 26(1) of the Act - Administrative order or not - prior notice and opportunity of hearing is mandatory at the stage of issuing direction to the Director General to hold inquiry under Section 26(1) of the Act or not - HELD THAT:- An order under Section 26(1) of the Act passed by the Commission is an 'administrative direction' to one of its wings departmentally and without entering upon any adjudicatory process - Section 26(1) of the Act does not mention about issuance of any notice to any party before or at the time of formation of an opinion by the Commission on the basis of information received by it. Whether the Commission has acted in consonance with the settled law? - HELD THAT:- In the case on hand, the informant has filed information and appended material papers, which according to the informant support its allegations. It was submitted by the learned Additional Solicitor General that the Commission has also called upon the informant to file a Certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act and the penalty for incorrect information is upto Rs. One Crore under Section 44 of the Competition Act - It is expected that an order directing investigation be supported by 'some reasoning' which the Commission has fulfilled. Therefore, it would be unwise to prejudge the issues raised by the petitioners in these writ petitions at this stage and scuttle the investigation. Therefore, the impugned order does not call for any interference. Petition dismissed.
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