The case will come up later this week after the reply of the Builders Association of India.
The association, which initiated the complaint originally before the Competition Commission of India (CCI), did not appear before the apex court today. Therefore, the court issued notice to the association.
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The cement companies argued that the penalty, fixed ad hoc at the rate of 10 per cent of their worth, was huge and unjustified. If the firms do not pay the penalties, their case (before CAT) will be automatically dismissed, according to the CAT order.
Abhishek Singhvi, senior lawyer representing Ultra Tech Cement Ltd, argued that CCI did not find any prima facie case against the 11 companies picked by the association out of 42 major cement manufacturers but still the CAT imposed a penalty in an interim order.
The deadline for payment of the penalties is June 16.
The Bench of Judges Gyan Sudha Misra and S J Mukhopadhyaya asked the CCI lawyer why the commission was interested in the case, as the penalty will go to the Consolidated Fund of India and the public was not going to be affected by the CAT order. Cement prices are not going to fall because of the order.
CCI replied it was entitled to argue the case against the cement firms as it conducted the investigation through its director-general. It could initiate steps suo motu also, he said.
Among the cement manufacturers that have appealed to the Supreme Court against the CAT order are Jaiprakash Associates, Century Textiles & Industries, and Madras Cements.