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2016 (1) TMI 1515 - HC - Law of CompetitionDeclination to continue the interim order granted - abuse of dominant position - contravention of Section 3 and 4 of the Competition Act 2002 - scope of present appeal - main petition is still pending - whether it is necessary to continue the interim order dated 09.04.2015 as modified on 21.05.2015 till the disposal of the writ petition? - HELD THAT - It is not required to enter into the merits of the case and express any opinion regarding the validity of the order of CCI dated 13.01.2015 which is impugned in the writ petition. Since it is an issue which needs adjudication in the writ petition it is confined only to the issue whether the order of the learned Single Judge warrants interference in an intra court appeal. The law is well settled that the appeals before the Division Bench under Letters Patent are against the exercise of discretion by the Single Bench and therefore it is impermissible to reassess the material and seek to reach a conclusion from the one reached by the Single Bench except where the exercise of discretion by the Single Bench has been shown to have been exercised arbitrarily or perversely or where the settled principles of law regulating grant or refusal of interim protection have been ignored. In the present case the respondents No.2 to 4 were supplying software for electronic payment solutions (BASE-24) to several banks in India which enables the said banks to process transactions at ATMs or at the point of sale terminals of different stores since the software facilitates communication of transactions with the relevant bank s core banking network. It is no doubt true that the said order was in operation till a final order came to be passed by CCI on 13.01.2015. However a clear finding has been recorded by the majority members of CCI in the order dated 13.01.2015 that the alleged dominance of the respondents No.2 to 4 in the relevant market has not been established and consequently the issue of abuse of dominant position does not arise. While arriving at the said conclusion CCI has taken into consideration the entire factual matrix of the case and assigned detailed reasons. CCI has also recorded a clear finding that the contravention of Section 3(4) read with Section 3(1) of the Act as alleged by the informant/appellant herein has not been established. Conclusion - The learned Single Judge thought it fit that the interim order which enables the banks to take customization and integration services from the appellant qua the software owned by the respondents No.2 to 4 herein cannot be continued any longer and accordingly the order under appeal came to be passed - The mere fact that the interim relief has ensured continuous business operations for the appellant is not a valid ground for continuing the interim order. We are also unable to agree with the plea of the appellant that irreparable damage would be caused in the absence of the interim order. In the facts and circumstances of the case the balance of convenience is not in favour of the appellant and therefore the discretion exercised by the learned Single Judge in discontinuing the interim relief cannot be held to be illegal or erroneous. Appeal disposed off.
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