HC Issues Notice To CCI On Plea For Probe Documents On Zomato, Swiggy

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Competition Commission of India on a petition filed by the National Restaurants Association of India seeking access to confidential documents related to the regulator's probe into Eternal Ltd., formerly Zomato.

In its interim plea, the association urged the court to direct the competition watchdog to re-evaluate Eternal's confidentiality claims. A similar petition was filed in November for access to documents from the director general’s probe into Swiggy Ltd.

The court will now hear both cases on Wednesday.

In 2021, the association submitted information to the Competition Commission alleging anti-competitive conduct by Eternal and Swiggy. In 2022, the commission said there was a prima facie case and ordered an investigation by its director general. The investigation concluded in March.

Following the probe, Swiggy and Eternal submitted applications requesting confidential treatment of the findings. The association also sought access to these confidential versions. However, the CCI excluded the association from the confidentiality ring, prompting it to approach the court.