NEW DELHI
:
The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has approached the Delhi High Court, challenging its exclusion from the confidentiality ring set up by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in the ongoing antitrust investigation against food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy.
The latest plea specifically challenges NRAI’s exclusion from accessing confidential documents in the CCI’s probe against Zomato, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“Plea is for seeking inclusion in the confidentiality ring created by the CCI under regulation 36 of the general regulations. Zomato is part of the ring but NRAI is not. Hence, this petition,” said the person involved in the case, asking not to be identified.
This comes after India’s leading restaurant industry association had already sought judicial relief over similar exclusion in the Swiggy investigation.
In that case, the Delhi High Court had issued notice in November 2024, and the matter remains pending.
A bench led by Justice Sachin Datta is scheduled to hear the fresh petition on Monday, as per the Delhi High Court’s cause list.
Dispute over confidentiality access
The confidentiality ring—introduced by the CCI in April 2022—allows designated representatives of parties limited access to sensitive commercial data to enable fair scrutiny during antitrust proceedings.
While NRAI was initially included, it was later excluded by a CCI order dated 14 October 2024, prompting the current petition.
Email queries sent to NRAI, CCI, Zomato, and Swiggy remained unanswered till press time.
The dispute stems from a 2021 complaint filed by NRAI, accusing Zomato and Swiggy of engaging in anti-competitive practices. These included mandating the use of their delivery services, masking customer data from restaurants, imposing high commissions through unfair contracts, and promoting their own or affiliated cloud kitchens. The CCI, finding a prima facie case, launched a detailed investigation in 2022.
After the investigation from September 2022 to October 2023, the CCI’s director general submitted a confidential report based on data from both platforms. In April 2024, the CCI granted NRAI limited access to the report, subject to confidentiality safeguards and an undertaking to destroy the data after the proceedings conclude.
However, Zomato and Swiggy pushed back against the CCI’s move, arguing that sharing such sensitive information—even under confidentiality agreements—could cause irreparable business harm. Both companies challenged the CCI’s order in the Karnataka High Court, invoking Section 57 of the Competition Act, 2002, and Regulation 35 of the CCI (General) Regulations, 2009, which deal with the handling of confidential information.
In June 2024, the Karnataka High Court directed the CCI to reconsider its stance on sharing such data. The regulator subsequently issued the October 2024 order excluding NRAI from the confidentiality ring—triggering the latest round of litigation, this time focused on Zomato.
Gurugram-based Zomato holds the largest share of India’s food delivery market at 58%, while its newly-listed competitor Swiggy accounts for the remaining 42%, according to a report by brokerage firm Motilal Oswal.
