Competition Commission of India Western Coalfields Limited vs Ssv Coal Carriers Private Limited & ... on 14 September, 2017 COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA Case No. 34 of 2015 In Re: Western Coalfields Limited Coal Estate, Civil Lines, Informant Nagpur, Maharashtra. And SSV Coal Carriers Private Limited Opposite Party No. 1 / OP1 Durgapur Rayatwari Colliery No. 4, Near OB Plant, Chandrapur, Maharashtra Bimal Kumar Khandelwal Opposite Party No. 2 / OP2 117, Khare Town, Dharampeth, Nagpur, Maharashtra Pravin Transport Opposite Party No. 3 / OP3 1E, Mayur Building, Mul Road, Chandrapur, Maharashtra Khandelwal Transport Opposite Party No. 4 / OP4 Bagla Nagar, Babupeth, Chandrapur, Maharashtra Khandelwal Earth Movers Opposite Party No. 5 / OP5 117, Khare Town, Dharampeth, Vikhroli West, Nagpur, Maharashtra Khanduja Coal Transport Co. Opposite Party No. 6 / OP6 19, Redcross Road, Sadar, Nagpur, Maharashtra Punya Coal Road Lines Opposite Party No. 7 / OP7 Plot No. 5051, Baji Prabhu Nagar, Near South Indian Temple, Ramnagar, Nagpur, Maharashtra B. Himmatlal Agrawal Opposite Party No. 8 / OP8 Krishna House, 71/A, S.T. Bus Stand Road, Ganeshpeth, Nagpur, Maharashtra Case No. 34/2015 Page 1 of 71 Punjab Transport Co. Opposite Party No. 9 / OP9 Plot No. 35, Ward No. 61, Surana Layout, Raj Nagar, Nagpur, Maharashtra Avaneesh Logistics Private Limited Opposite Party No. 10 / OP10 Mezzanine Floor, Aradhana Building, Gokulpeth, Nagpur, Maharashtra (Hereinafter collectively called 'the Opposite Parties/ the OPs') CORAM Mr. Devender Kumar Sikri Chairperson Mr. Sudhir Mital Member Mr. Augustine Peter Member Mr. Justice G. P. Mittal Member Appearances during final hearing held on 16thMarch, 2017, 25th April, 2017 and 4th May, 2017: (i). Mr. Uddyam Mukherjee and Mr. Ankit Jain, Advocates for Western Coalfields Limited. (ii). Mr. Jaspreet Singh Rai, Advocate for OP1 and Mr. Sunil Singh. (iii). Mr. Nakul Mohta and Mr. Johnson Subba, Advocates for OP2, OP5, OP7, Mr. Tapan Mukherjee and Mr. Rajiv Khandelwal. (iv). Mr. T. Sundar Ramanathan, Mr. Abir Roy and Mr. Prashanth Shivadass, Advocates for OP3, OP4, Mr. Jasbir Singh and Mr. Kanhaiyalal Khandelwal. (v). Mr. Randeep S. Khanduja, Partner for OP6 and Mr. Manjeet Singh Khanduja. (vi). Mr. Anubhav Mardikar, Advocate for OP8 and Mr. Kishore Agrawal. (vii). Mr. Arunava Mukherjee, Advocate for OP9 and Mr. Jagdish Kumar. (viii). Mr. Chetan S. Dhore, Advocate for OP10 and Mr. Anil Sapra. Case No. 34/2015 Page 2 of 71 Order under Section 27 of the Competition Act, 2002 1. The information in the present case was filed by the Informant under Section 19 (1) (a) of the Competition Act, 2002 (hereinafter 'the Act') against the OPs alleging contravention of the provisions of Section 3 of the Act. A. Allegations in the information 2. The Informant is one of the eight subsidiary companies of Coal India Limited and has been conferred 'Miniratna' status. It has mining operations spread over the States of Maharashtra (Nagpur, Chandrapur and Yeotmal districts) and Madhya Pradesh (Betul and Chhindawara districts). It is a major supplier of coal to industries located in the States of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. A large number of power houses i.e. Electricity Boards in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are the major customers of the Informant along with cement, steel, chemical, fertilizers, paper and brick industries. 3. The OPs are engaged in the business of providing ancillary services in colliery areas including of sand and coal transportation in the areas of operation of the Informant. 4. The instant information was filed pursuant to the quoting of identical prices by the OPs in four tenders floated by the Informant for coal and sand transportation. In these tenders, bids were called in two parts: Part I for general eligibility criteria and Part II for price bids which was to be opened only for bidders who qualify and were found eligible after scrutiny of their resp