In Brief
The Supreme Court reviewed a Competition Commission decision penalizing Multi System Operators (MSOs) for terminating a news broadcaster's transmission agreement without proper notice under telecom regulations. The Commission had found the MSOs held 85% market share and abused their dominant position by denying the broadcaster market access. The Appellate Tribunal reversed the finding, reasoning that Section 4(2)(c) of the Competition Act applies only between competitors. The Court held that competitor status is irrelevant once dominance is established; denial of market access alone triggers the provision. The Court upheld that Section 4(2)(c) was breached but set aside the penalty because the broadcasters' extremely low TRP ratings (3.8 vs. other channels' 7.0-35.6) justified termination on business grounds, despite procedural violations.
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