Delhi High Court Dismisses Plea Alleging 'Cartelization' In Air India-Vistara Merger

The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed a plea against the merger of Vistara Airlines and Air India Limited over allegations of cartelization and bid rigging.

Justice Sanjeev Narula rejected the plea moved by former Air India Pilot, Captain Deepak Kumar, observing that the allegations are unsubstantiated and not supported by any evidence.

The court upheld an order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in December last year dismissed Kumar's plea against the merger, noting the absence of any substantive evidence to back the allegations.

While dismissing the plea, Justice Narula said that the petition included numerous unsubstantiated, wild and scandalous allegations against the Prime Minister and a former Chief Justice of India, none of which were supported by documentary evidence.

The court referred to a recent order by a division bench rapping Kumar for filing a petition making “reckless allegations” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“This case presents no deviation from a pattern of making unsubstantiated and reckless allegations, similar to those observed in the in the afore-noted order. These allegations, which are not only unsupported by evidence but also seem to be driven by malice, undermine the integrity of the judicial process,” the court said.

It added that Kumar's claims were made without any regard for truth and appeared to be designed to manipulate or mislead.

“This approach not only discredits the Petitioner's credibility but also burdens the legal system unnecessarily. Therefore, in the Court's view, given the absence of any substantiated claims and the apparent malicious intent behind the allegations, the present petition lacks merit,” the court said.

Counsel for Petitioner: None

Counsel for Respondent: Mr. Manu Chaturvedi, Advocate for R-1; Team of Svarniti Law Offices consisting of Mr. Amit Mishra, Ms. Mitakshara Goyal, Mr. Akhil Kulshrestha, Ms. Yashika Nagpal, Advocates, along with Representative of Air India Limited, Mr. Azeem Samuel; Ms. Anjana Gosain and Ms. Nippun Sharma, Advocates for R-3

Title: CAPTAIN DEEPAK KUMAR v. COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA AND ORS.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 759

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