Appeals and compensation: from the Competition Appellate Tribunal to the NCLAT and the Supreme Court

1. Why an appellate tribunal

As enacted, the Act provided an appeal from the Commission directly to the Supreme Court (section 40). In Brahm Dutt v. Union of India (2005) the Union undertook to create a separate appellate body so that the Commission could be an expert regulator while a judicially-headed body heard appeals. The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007 inserted Chapter VIIIA (sections 53A to 53U), omitted section 40, and set up the Competition Appellate Tribunal.

2. COMPAT under the 2007 amendment

• Composition: a Chairperson and not more than two other Members, appointed by the Central Government. The Chairperson had to be a judge (sitting or retired) of the Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of a High Court; Members had to be persons of ability, integrity and standing with special knowledge of competition matters, economics, law, commerce, industry and allied fields. Appointment was on the recommendation of a Selection Committee headed by the Chief Justice of India or his nominee.
• Tenure: five years, subject to age limits (68 for the Chairperson and 65 for Members).
• Jurisdiction: appeals against specified directions, decisions and orders of the Commission, and claims for compensation arising from the Commission’s findings.
• COMPAT began functioning in 2009 and decided the early appeals, including Excel Crop Care, Schott Glass and Coal India at the first appellate stage.

3. The 2017 change

The Finance Act, 2017, which rationalised tribunals, substituted section 53A. The NCLAT, constituted under section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013, became the Appellate Tribunal for the purposes of the Competition Act from the commencement of Part XIV of Chapter VI of the Finance Act, 2017, that is, 26 May 2017. The provisions on COMPAT’s composition, selection and terms of office (sections 53C to 53M and 53R) were omitted, and pending appeals moved to the NCLAT. The NCLAT’s composition is governed by the Companies Act (a Chairperson who is or has been a judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a High Court, with judicial and technical members). Section 2(ba) now defines “Appellate Tribunal” as the NCLAT.

4. Appellate jurisdiction: sections 53A and 53B

The NCLAT hears appeals against directions, decisions or orders of the Commission under (section 53A(1)(a), as amended in 2023):

• section 6(6) (green channel approval declared void);
• section 26(2), (2A), (6) and (9) (closure, refusal and final orders after inquiry);
• sections 27 and 28 (orders and penalty; division of a dominant enterprise);
• sections 31 and 32 (combinations; extra-territorial orders);
• section 33 (interim orders); section 38 (rectification); section 39 (recovery);
• sections 43, 43A, 44, 45 and 46 (penalties and lesser penalty).

A direction to investigate under section 26(1) is not appealable (Competition Commission of India v. Steel Authority of India Ltd., 2010 INSC 587, (2010) 10 SCC 744); nor are settlement or commitment orders (sections 48A(7), 48B(7)). In SAIL the Court also held that the Commission is a necessary or at least a proper party to appeals against its orders.

Who may appeal: the Central Government, a State Government, a local authority, an enterprise or any person aggrieved (section 53B(1)). Limitation: 60 days from receipt of the order, extendable for sufficient cause (section 53B(2)). Pre-deposit: no appeal by a person required to pay an amount is entertained unless 25 per cent of it is deposited as the Tribunal directs (second proviso, 2023). The Tribunal may confirm, modify or set aside the order after hearing (section 53B(3)) and should try to dispose of the appeal within six months (section 53B(5)).

5. Compensation: section 53N

• The Central or a State Government, a local authority, an enterprise or any person may apply to the NCLAT for compensation for loss or damage caused by a contravention of Chapter II.
• The claim is follow-on: it may be made only after the Commission or the Tribunal (and, since 2023, the Supreme Court on appeal) has found a contravention, or under section 42A or 53Q(2), or on the basis of a settlement order (2023).
• The inquiry is into eligibility and quantum only; the finding of violation is not reopened (Explanation (b)). The Tribunal may seek the Commission’s recommendation.
• Class claims are allowed with the Tribunal’s permission, applying Order I Rule 8 CPC (section 53N(4)).

6. Powers, execution and contempt: sections 53O to 53U

• Not bound by the CPC; guided by natural justice; civil court powers including summoning, discovery, affidavits, commissions, review of its own decisions, and restoring matters dismissed in default (section 53O). Proceedings are judicial proceedings.
• Orders are executed as decrees of a civil court, or transmitted to a civil court for execution (section 53P).
• Contravention of its orders without reasonable ground attracts contempt proceedings under section 53U (section 53Q(1) as substituted in 2023); compensation for loss caused by such contravention (section 53Q(2)).
• Parties may appear in person or through advocates, chartered accountants, company secretaries, cost accountants or officers (section 53S).
• The Tribunal has the contempt powers of a High Court under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (section 53U).

7. Appeal to the Supreme Court: section 53T

The Central or a State Government, the Commission, any statutory authority, local authority, enterprise or person aggrieved by a decision or order of the Appellate Tribunal may appeal to the Supreme Court within 60 days of communication, extendable for sufficient cause. The appeal is a statutory first appeal, not limited to questions of law. Most leading competition judgments, including Excel Crop Care (2017), Rajasthan Cylinders (2018), Coal India (2023) and Schott Glass (2025), came to the Court this way. Civil courts have no jurisdiction over matters the Commission or Tribunal may decide (section 61), but writ jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 32 remains, as Bharti Airtel (2018), which began as a writ in the Bombay High Court, shows.

How this is examined

June 2025 set the COMPAT question as a 10-mark alternative in Unit V. Structure: section 1 (why), section 2 (COMPAT), section 3 (2017), then sections 4 to 7 as the present appellate jurisdiction and powers. A short note on “compensation under the Competition Act” or “appeal to the Supreme Court” is answered from sections 5 or 7.