The Kerala High Court has dismissed JioStar’s challenge to the CCI investigation into alleged preferential discounts to KCCL. The Court directed CCI to first rule on its own jurisdiction and conclude the process within eight weeks.
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday rejected JioStar’s appeal challenging the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) probe into allegations that the broadcaster gave unfair pricing benefits to Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL).
A Division Bench of Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar agreed with the earlier single-judge decision, which had already allowed the CCI to continue its investigation.
The dispute began when Asianet Digital Network Pvt Ltd approached the CCI accusing Star India—now known as JioStar—of offering indirect discounts to KCCL through certain marketing arrangements. Asianet claimed that such conduct violated TRAI’s Interconnection Regulations.
After the CCI ordered an investigation under Section 26(1) of the Competition Act, Star India moved the High Court saying that only the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had the power to look into issues related to interconnection and pricing, not the CCI.
A single judge rejected this argument in May 2025. Star India then filed an appeal before the Division Bench, which has now been dismissed.
Although the appeal was rejected, the Court made an important direction regarding jurisdiction. It said that the CCI must first examine and decide whether it actually has the authority to deal with this matter before going ahead with the probe.
The Court stated:
“CCI must decide as a preliminary point its jurisdiction to take up the whole matter and proceed with it in the face of specific provisions of TRIA-Regulations, especially Regulation 7, violation of which has been alleged,”
The judges further clarified that the CCI can delay looking into the case if it concludes that TRAI is the proper authority to examine the issues raised.
But if the CCI believes it does have jurisdiction, the Court said it must then issue a detailed and reasoned order on the complaint filed by Asianet.
The Court fixed a strict timeline for this process, directing that
“The entire exercise will be carried out within an outer limit of 8 weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy,”
A full and detailed written judgment will be available later.
On the merits, the judges asked the CCI to rely on the Director General’s investigation report and give all parties enough opportunity to present their arguments.
The Court said that
“Thereafter, it must proceed to pass a reasoned and speaking order, considering all the contentions of various parties,”
After the verdict was pronounced, JioStar requested the Court to keep the judgment in abeyance for four weeks so it could approach the Supreme Court.
But the lawyer appearing for Asianet strongly opposed this, saying that extending the interim order would only slow down the process and defeat the eight-week deadline set by the Court for the CCI to complete the matter. The Bench has not yet given any order on JioStar’s request.
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This decision marks another important development in the ongoing debate about whether TRAI or CCI should handle disputes involving telecom sector pricing, interconnection, and competition-related questions.
The High Court’s direction to decide jurisdiction first is expected to clarify the boundaries between the two regulators and influence how similar disputes are handled in the future.
Case Title:
Jiostar India Private Limited vs Competition Commission of India
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