Kerala HC junks JioStar plea against CCI probe on alleged KCCL discounts

New Delhi: The Kerala High Court has dismissed an appeal by JioStar India (formerly Star India) that sought to block a Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigation into allegations of discriminatory discounts in favour of multi-system operator Kerala Communicators Cable (KCCL).

A Division Bench of Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar upheld a single-judge order that had earlier refused to interfere with the CCI’s decision to probe the broadcaster, but at the same time directed the competition regulator to first decide its own jurisdiction vis-à-vis the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) before proceeding further.

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The case arises from a complaint filed by Asianet Digital Network Pvt Ltd before the CCI, alleging that Star India/JioStar was extending indirect discounts to KCCL through marketing and commercial arrangements, in violation of TRAI’s Interconnection Regulations, and thereby distorting competition in the Kerala distribution market.

Acting on the complaint, the CCI had ordered an investigation under Section 26(1) of the Competition Act. Star India challenged that order before the High Court, arguing that issues relating to channel pricing, discounts and interconnection in the broadcasting sector fell exclusively within the domain of TRAI and the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), and not the CCI.

In May 2025, a single judge dismissed the broadcaster’s writ petition, paving the way for the CCI probe to continue. JioStar then filed an appeal before the Division Bench, which has now been rejected.

While declining to interfere with the single-judge verdict, the Bench said the question of jurisdiction raised by JioStar must nonetheless be examined as a preliminary issue by the competition regulator itself.

“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 TRAI Regulations, especially Regulation 7, violation of which has been alleged,” the court directed, according to the order.

The High Court clarified that if, on such examination, the CCI concludes that TRAI is the appropriate forum to deal with the issues raised, it may defer consideration of the matter. If it decides otherwise, the CCI has been asked to pass a separate, reasoned order on jurisdiction and then move ahead to consider the complaint on the merits.

The court has set an outer limit of eight weeks from the date of receipt of the certified copy of its judgment for the entire exercise to be completed. During this period, the CCI has been told to proceed on the basis of the Director General’s investigation report and give all stakeholders sufficient opportunity of hearing before passing a “reasoned and speaking order” addressing their contentions.

After the Division Bench pronounced its verdict, JioStar requested that the judgment be kept in abeyance for four weeks to enable it to approach the Supreme Court. 

Counsel for Asianet opposed the plea, arguing that extending the earlier interim protection would only prolong the matter and undercut the eight-week timeline fixed for the CCI to conclude the process. The Bench did not immediately pass any order on JioStar’s request.

The ruling is the latest in a series of orders from the Kerala High Court touching on the overlap between TRAI and CCI in the broadcasting and distribution space. 

In an earlier judgment this year, the court had held that both regulators can exercise their powers independently even in cases of jurisdictional overlap, with TRAI focusing on sectoral and licensing issues and the CCI on anti-competitive conduct and abuse of dominance.