Competition Commission of India M/S Maa Metakani Rice Industries vs State Of Odisha And Another on 5 August, 2021 COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA Case No. 16 of 2019 In Re: M/s Maa Metakani Rice Industries Represented through Shri Puneet Jhunjhunwala, Partner Jhunjhunwala House, Nandapada, Sambalpur 768001 Odisha Informant And State of Odisha represented through CommissionercumSecretary, Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Department, Government of Odisha, Odisha State Secretariat, Sachivalaya Marg, Unit2, Keshari Nagar, Bhubaneshwar 751001, Odisha Opposite Party No. 1 Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. C/2, Nayapalli Bhubaneshwar 751012 Odisha Also at: Kacheri Road, Sambalpur 768001, Odisha Opposite Party No. 2 CORAM Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta Chairperson Ms. Sangeeta Verma Member Mr. Bhagwant Singh Bishnoi Member Case No. 16 of 2019 1 Appearances: For Informant Mr. Prabhu Prasanna Behera, Advocate Mr. Abhishek Choudhary, Advocate Mr. Puneet Jhunjhunwala, Partner (M/s Maa Metakani Rice Industries) For State of Odisha (Food None Supply & Consumer Welfare Department) For Odisha State Civil Supplies Mr. Rahul Tyagi, Advocate Corporation Ltd. (OSCSCL) Ms. Shruti Manchanda, Advocate Ms. Jigyan Mishra, Manager (Law) Order under Section 27 of the Competition Act, 2002 1. The Information in the present case was filed by M/s. Maa Metakani Rice Industries, a registered partnership firm represented by its partner Mr. Puneet Jhunjhunwala (hereinafter, 'Informant') on 07.05.2019 under Section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002 (hereinafter, 'Act') alleging contravention of the relevant provisions of Section 4 of the Act, by the State of Odisha, represented through CommissionercumSecretary, Food Supply & Consumer Welfare Department (FS & CW Department), Government of Odisha (hereinafter, 'Opposite Party No. 1/OP1') and Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. (hereinafter, 'Opposite Party No. 2/OP2'; collectively referred to as 'Opposite Parties/OPs'). Background (in brief): 2. The Informant is in the business of rice (paddy) milling, production of rice, broken rice, bran, etc., and sale thereof, and acts as Custom Milling Agent of OP2 for the aforesaid purpose and also undertakes custom milling for the Food Corporation of India ('FCI'), National Collateral Management Services Limited ('NCMSL'), Orissa State Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited ('MARKFED'), Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation of Odisha Limited ('TDCCOL') and other Government Agencies. 3. According to the Informant, OP2 was established on 03.09.1980 as a company under the erstwhile Companies Act, 1956, and is fully owned by the Government of Odisha. It has Case No. 16 of 2019 2 been stated that OP2 is the largest agency involved in paddy procurement in the State of Odisha. It is further stated that all the rice mills in the State including that of the Informant, are totally dependent on OP2 to run their rice mills. 4. The procurement is openended and carried out at Minimum Support Price ('MSP'), conforming to the quality specifications prescribed by the Government of India, and is purchased by Government agencies, including the FCI for central pool. Custom Milled Rice ('CMR') is manufactured by milling the paddy procured by State Government/State agencies and FCI. 5. The State of Odisha has been procuring paddy from farmers since the Kharif Marketing Season ('KMS') 200304. The season starts from 1st October and continues till 30th September of the following year. Two crops of paddy are cultivated in a KMS, namely, Kharif and Rabi. OP1 is stated to play a significant role in supporting the activities of OP2 by providing subsidies to recompense for its losses on account of procurement and milling. 6. The Informant entered into an agreement with OP2 on 23.11.2015 for custom milling of paddy for the KMS 201516 (hereinafter, 'Agreement'). Clauses 25 and 26 of the Agreement provided for Standard Fire Insurance coverage of the stock of OP2 kept and maintained at the custom miller's premises, visàv