UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC upholds NCLAT order setting aside CCI’s ₹301.6-cr. Grasim fine

Question 1

Under the Competition Act, 2002, which one of the following correctly describes a 'dominant position' held by an enterprise?

Accepted Answer

Strength in the relevant market that lets an enterprise operate independently of competitive forces or sway consumers in its favour

Answer

A market share above 50% of the relevant market, which the Act treats as conclusive proof of dominance

Answer

Status as the only supplier of a product in India, with no competing enterprise at all present in that market

Answer

A market position that by itself amounts to a contravention, rendering the enterprise automatically liable to penalty

Question 2

Section 4(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 sets out the categories of conduct that constitute an abuse of dominant position. Into how many clauses is this enumeration organised?

Accepted Answer

Five

Answer

Three

Answer

Four

Answer

Seven

Question 3

Under the Competition Act, 2002, which one of the following best describes the Director General?

Accepted Answer

An officer appointed to assist the Commission by investigating alleged contraventions, whose findings do not bind the Commission

Answer

A whole-time Member of the Commission who presides over the bench hearing abuse of dominance cases and signs its final order

Answer

The adjudicating officer who separately quantifies and recovers monetary penalties once the Commission has found a contravention

Answer

The nodal officer of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs whose prior approval the Commission must obtain before initiating any inquiry

Question 4

Consider the following statements regarding the Competition Commission of India and its statutory framework:
1. It is a statutory body functioning under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, established under the Competition Act, 2002.
2. Its Chairperson and Members are appointed by the Central Government from a panel of names recommended by a Selection Committee.
3. The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 extended the settlement and commitment framework to cartels as well as to abuse of dominant position.
4. The Director General is appointed by the Commission itself, and no prior approval of the Central Government is required for such appointment.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 and 4

Answer

1 and 2

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Question 5

Which one of the following statements about the forum that hears appeals against directions, decisions and orders of the Competition Commission of India is correct?

Accepted Answer

Appeals lie to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, which may confirm, modify or set aside the Commission's order

Answer

Every order of the Commission is appealable only to the High Court within whose jurisdiction the enterprise has its registered office

Answer

Appeals lie to the Securities Appellate Tribunal, whose findings on questions of fact are final and never open to further appeal

Answer

The Competition Appellate Tribunal continues to be the exclusive appellate forum for all orders passed by the Commission

Question 6

Which one of the following best describes the appellate power conferred by Section 53B of the Competition Act, 2002?

Accepted Answer

To hear appeals filed within sixty days by any aggrieved person, and to confirm, modify or set aside the Commission's order

Answer

To hear only those appeals that the Commission itself certifies as raising a substantial question of law, filed within thirty days of the order

Answer

To order a fresh investigation through the Tribunal's own Director General before ruling on whether the Commission's order should stand

Answer

To review its own earlier orders on an application by the Commission, appeals against the Commission's orders lying instead to the Supreme Court

Question 7

In Indian administrative law, the maxim audi alteram partem embodies which one of the following requirements?

Accepted Answer

That a party likely to be affected must receive notice and a reasonable opportunity to be heard

Answer

That every quasi-judicial authority must record reasons in support of the order it finally passes

Answer

That no person shall adjudicate upon a matter in which they hold a personal interest or stake

Answer

That a matter finally decided between the same parties cannot be re-agitated in fresh proceedings

Question 8

Consider the following propositions about the application of natural justice to statutory regulators exercising quasi-judicial functions in India:
1. The deciding authority must be free from bias or personal interest in the matter before it.
2. A party must be heard before an order adverse to its interests is passed against it.
3. A regulator proposing to depart from the findings of its own investigating officer must give the affected party an opportunity to respond on the points of departure.
4. Where a statute lays down a procedure for inquiry, principles of natural justice stand excluded and cannot be read into the proceedings.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4

Question 9

Consider the following statements regarding the Supreme Court's 2026 ruling in the Competition Commission of India's appeal concerning Grasim Industries:
1. The Supreme Court itself exonerated Grasim of abuse of dominance in the viscose staple fibre market and closed the proceedings.
2. The Court dismissed the Commission's appeal and upheld the appellate tribunal's order dated 5 May 2026.
3. The penalty set aside was ₹301.6 crore, originally imposed by the Commission in March 2020.
4. The Commission was directed to hear the company afresh on the points where it proposed to differ from the Director General's report.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Question 10

The requirement that the Competition Commission of India issue a show-cause notice before passing a final order in which it differs from the Director General's conclusions — the very lapse that cost it the Grasim penalty — now rests expressly on which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The proviso to Section 26(9), which mandates a show-cause notice before the Commission passes its final order

Answer

Section 27, which obliges the Commission to accept the Director General's report in all abuse of dominance proceedings

Answer

Section 53T, which bars the Commission from ever appealing an order of the Appellate Tribunal to the Supreme Court

Answer

Section 19(4), which makes market share the sole and conclusive test of dominance in the relevant market

Question 11

Consider the following pairings relating to the viscose staple fibre sector in India:
1. Grasim Industries — flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group and a leading producer of viscose staple fibre.
2. Viscose staple fibre — a man-made cellulosic fibre used by spinners as a substitute for cotton.
3. Association of Man Made Fibre Industry of India — the body whose complaint led to the competition proceedings against Grasim.
4. Textile Advisory Group on Man-made Fibre — a stakeholder body constituted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

2 and 4 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4 only

Question 12

Consider the following pairs of Indian regulator and the tribunal hearing appeals against its orders: Securities and Exchange Board of India — Securities Appellate Tribunal; Telecom Regulatory Authority of India — Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal; Competition Commission of India — National Company Law Appellate Tribunal; Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India — Securities Appellate Tribunal. How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

Only three

Answer

Only one

Answer

Only two

Answer

All four

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC upholds NCLAT order setting aside CCI’s ₹301.6-cr. Grasim fine

Q1. Under the Competition Act, 2002, which one of the following correctly describes a 'dominant position' held by an enterprise?

Q2. Section 4(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 sets out the categories of conduct that constitute an abuse of dominant position. Into how many clauses is this enumeration organised?

Q3. Under the Competition Act, 2002, which one of the following best describes the Director General?

Q5. Which one of the following statements about the forum that hears appeals against directions, decisions and orders of the Competition Commission of India is correct?

Q6. Which one of the following best describes the appellate power conferred by Section 53B of the Competition Act, 2002?

Q7. In Indian administrative law, the maxim audi alteram partem embodies which one of the following requirements?

Q10. The requirement that the Competition Commission of India issue a show-cause notice before passing a final order in which it differs from the Director General's conclusions — the very lapse that cost it the Grasim penalty — now rests expressly on which one of the following?