Delhi High Court Issues Notice to Zomato, CCI Over Antitrust Probe

The Delhi High Court has sent a notice to Zomato and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation.

This comes after the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) filed a plea, saying it was unfairly removed from a “confidentiality ring” — a setup created in 2022 to let involved parties access sensitive information for a fair defence. The NRAI was part of this ring earlier, but the CCI excluded it in October 2024.

The NRAI argues that being left out weakens its ability to defend itself and wants the court to review Zomato’s confidentiality claims. Zomato’s lawyers, however, said the NRAI represents rival businesses, so it shouldn’t have access to confidential data.

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Justice Sachin Datta, who is handling the case, has combined this plea with a similar one involving Swiggy. Both cases will be heard again on April 23.

On the same day, the CCI also ruled that Zomato’s platform and delivery fees don’t count as misuse of its market power — giving Zomato a big relief after nearly two years of investigation.

The NRAI had originally accused food delivery companies of unfair practices like deep discounts, high commissions, delayed payments, and one-sided contracts with restaurants.

In 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said there was enough initial evidence to look into the complaints against food delivery platforms. So, it asked the Director General (DG) to investigate the claims made by the NRAI.

The DG completed the investigation in March 2024.

After that, Swiggy and Zomato requested access to the confidential version of the report. The NRAI also asked for access to the same confidential findings.

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