Ex-Govt Officials, Former WhatsApp Compliance Officer, Among New CCI Members: Report

CCI was reportedly facing a quorum issue after its sole member Sangeeta Verma retired last week leaving the body only with Chairperson Ravneet Kaur.

These members will work under CCI Chairperson Ravneet Kaur, who was appointed in May this year. 

Source : X/CCI

Three new members have been appointed to the competition regulatory body Competition Commission of India (CCI), including a former government official and a former interim compliance officer of WhatsApp. With these appointments, the antitrust body will have a three-member quorum, essential for taking decisions. 

On Thursday, citing sources with direct knowledge Reuters reported that the three new members of CCI include Anil Agrawal, a former Director General of Police and former Additional Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade; Deepak Anurag, a former Additional Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General of India; and independent lawyer Sweta Kakkad, who previously served as the Interim Chief Compliance Officer at WhatsApp.

Anil Agrawal, who has also worked on various startup initiatives, including for setting up of Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC), confirmed his appointment, the report said. 

These members will work under CCI Chairperson Ravneet Kaur, who was appointed in May this year. 

Last week, The Hindu Businessline reported that CCI was operating with a single-member leadership structure after its sole member Sangeeta Verma retired last week. Prior to this, another Member B S Bishnoi retired in August. 

This lack of members had rendered the CCI inquorate, as a minimum of three members is required to meet quorum norms, the report said. Raising concerns regarding the competition regulatory body's potential dysfunctionality.

There was apprehension that the approval process for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) may be delayed, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows could encounter regulatory obstacles, as per the report. 

While the CCI has previously relied on the Doctrine of Necessity to address quorum issues and approve M&A cases, the report quoted experts who noted that this doctrine is a vague concept, and the validity of CCI approvals could be legally challenged if they lack the required quorum.

The CCI plays a vital role in India's open economy by promoting fair competition and preventing anti-competitive practices in the market. It enforces the Competition Act of 2002, investigating cases of dominance abuse, anti-competitive agreements, and combinations that could harm competition. 

It's worth noting that the CCI previously faced a quorum issue for seven months after the former Chairman, Ashok Kumar Gupta, left office in October of the previous year. Ravneet Kaur's appointment as Chairperson in May helped resolve this issue temporarily.

These appointments coincide with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) conducting investigations into multiple well-known international corporations for suspected antitrust violations including Amazon, Walmart's Flipkart, Google, and the prominent liquor conglomerate Pernod Ricard.