15-05-2025
Hear out the SC on laws and effects
The Supreme Court's decision on Tuesday in a competition-law case is eminently notable. More than a decade after the Competition Commission of India found Schott Glass India guilty of abusing its market dominance, the apex court has put a final stamp on a reversal of that finding, noting firms mustn't be penalized for their size, unless they're shown to have disrupted rivalry in a market.
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Doing so could cause economic setbacks, to guard against which the court advocated an 'effects-based" standard of adjudication: 'Heavy-handed enforcement, divorced from market effects, would discourage the long-term capital and expertise the economy urgently needs."
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The bench made this observation in the global context of protectionist walls going up and the 'prudence" needed for India to emerge as a hub for manufacturing, life sciences and tech. That economic value must generally be taken under consideration in legal cases is a powerful argument.
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A counter-argument is that the law might look blurry if rulings are subject to frequent legal relativism. What's clear is that the more context matters, the more we'll need to rely on the wisdom of judges.
