Govt backs Chatterjee as competition panel chief

NEW DELHI: The government has chosen to defend its position on the appointment of commerce secretary Dipak Chatterjee as the chairman of Competition Commission of India. The case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court tomorrow before the chief justice.
In the counter-affidavit submitted to the writ petition filed by one Brahm Dutt in the Supreme Court challenging appointment of a bureaucrat as the head of the commission, the government has said that “there is neither an intention nor an actual by-passing of the judiciary in the country at all.... All that has been done is to ensure that the most appropriate person for such a special and sensitive assignment is available.�
The government has said Mr Chatterjee was duly qualified to be the chairperson of the commission in accordance with qualifications prescribed in the Competition Act and that there was no contravention of law laid down by the apex court.
The Centre has also sought refuge in the provisions of the Competition Act, a piece of legislation that was passed by Parliament. “The constitution of the commission is also a matter within the purview of Parliament whose wisdom and decision in the matter cannot be challenged by way of a public interest litigation,� the government has stated in the counter-affidavit. It added that Parliament in its legislative wisdom had permitted the selection of the most appropriate person for chairing such a commission.
A bench of Chief Justice V N Khare and justice S B Sinha hearing the petition on October 31 had noted that the Centre’s decision was a “direct attempt� to encroach upon the judiciary.

The Centre, in its reply filed on November 18, has sought to dispel the misconception that the commission was a replacement of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission and that the commission would perform adjudicatory or judicial functions. The counter-affidavit explains that the commission would be a regulatory mechanism that would encourage competition and that adjudicatory function was not the main function but a supplement to the regulatory mechanism. “With this objective in mind, a judicial member has been made a member of each bench of the commission.�
It added that one of the function of the commission was competition advocacy for generating awareness and imparting training in competition issues. The functions include not determining the procedure for amalgamation or mergers, but the impact of such M&A in a free market economy.
The functions of the commission are not merely adjudicatory but cover a wide range and require expertise in different aspects of commerce, economics and administration in addition to law.