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B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 9 Competition Law 2022 Apr Question Paper with Solutions - KSLU

KSLU Solved Question Papers

Competition Law

Previous Year Question Paper with Solution

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 9

2022 Apr Examination

munotes.in

Mumbai

First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.

Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.

Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.

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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2022 Apr examination.

The Paper as Set

The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2022 Apr examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.

Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered

Instructions printed on the paper

N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type question and short note/problems is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.

How to use this volume

Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.

Read the original question paper

Q1

Unit I

(a)What are the competition policies in India that regulates trade ?[10]

Answer

For full marks, cover: what "competition policy" means; the policies that shape competition in Indian trade, one by one: industrial policy (from licensing to the 1991 reforms), trade policy (tariffs, anti-dumping), foreign investment policy, competition law (MRTP Act to the Competition Act, 2002), consumer protection, sector regulation (Competition Commission of India v. Bharti Airtel Ltd.), public procurement (Rajasthan Cylinders and Containers Ltd. v. Union of India), price control (Narendra Kumar v. Union of India), and the draft National Competition Policy, 2011; a table; an assessment.

Meaning

Competition policy is the whole set of government measures that decide how freely firms can enter markets and compete. Competition law is only one part of it. Many other policies, such as licensing, tariffs, investment rules and price controls, also open or close markets. India has no single adopted competition policy document. Its competition policy is the sum of the policies below.

1. Industrial policy

Under the Industrial Policy Resolutions of 1948 and 1956, India reserved key industries for the public sector. Private units needed licences to set up or expand. Competition was limited by design. The Statement on Industrial Policy of 24 July 1991 abolished licensing for all but a short list of industries. It also ended the MRTP Act's pre-entry scrutiny of big business houses. Act 58 of 1991 omitted those controls, sections 20 to 26 of the MRTP Act. Entry became free, and competition became the main discipline on firms.

2. Trade policy

The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 and the Foreign Trade Policy made under it govern imports and exports. Lower tariffs and fewer quantitative restrictions after 1991 exposed Indian firms to foreign rivals. Unfairly cheap imports are met by anti-dumping duty under section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, not by competition law.

3. Foreign investment policy

Most sectors now allow foreign investment through the automatic route. New entrants with foreign capital increase rivalry in markets once dominated by a few domestic firms.

4. Competition law

The MRTP Act, 1969 controlled size and restrictive practices. After the Raghavan Committee reported in May 2000, Parliament enacted the Competition Act, 2002. It forbids anti-competitive agreements (section 3) and abuse of dominance (section 4), and regulates combinations (sections 5 and 6). Section 49 lets the Central and State Governments seek the Commission's opinion on any policy.

5. Consumer protection

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 deals with unfair and restrictive trade practices from the buyer's side. The Central Consumer Protection Authority acts against misleading advertisements and unfair practices.

6. Sector regulation

Telecom, electricity, securities, banking and insurance have their own regulators. Their rules on entry, tariffs and access shape competition directly. Sections 21 and 21A of the Competition Act let the Commission and the regulators refer issues to each other.

Competition Commission of India v. Bharti Airtel Ltd., (2019) 2 SCC 521, decided on 5 December 2018, shows how the two fit together. Reliance Jio alleged that the older operators had combined to deny it interconnection. The Supreme Court held that TRAI must first decide the telecom questions, which are "jurisdictional facts". Only then may the Commission examine the competition issue. Its jurisdiction is postponed, not ousted.

7. Public procurement

The Government is the largest buyer in many markets. Open tenders invite competition, but they can also invite bid rigging.

Rajasthan Cylinders and Containers Ltd. v. Union of India, (2020) 16 SCC 615, decided on 1 October 2018, concerned LPG cylinder makers who quoted near-identical prices in an Indian Oil tender. The Commission found bid rigging. The Supreme Court set the penalties aside. It held that identical prices alone do not prove an agreement where one powerful buyer controls the tender and fixes the price. Procurement design itself affects competition.

8. Price and supply control

Under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 the Government may control the price and supply of essential goods. The Drugs (Prices Control) Order is one example. Such controls replace market prices with fixed ones and must stay within the Constitution.

Narendra Kumar v. Union of India, AIR 1960 SC 430, decided on 3 December 1959, concerned the Non-ferrous Metal Control Order, 1958, which fixed prices and required permits. The Supreme Court held that the principles for granting permits, never published or laid before Parliament as the Act required, could not be enforced. The greater the restriction on trade, the stronger the justification it needs.

9. The draft National Competition Policy, 2011

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs published a draft National Competition Policy in 2011. It aimed to make all government policies favour competition. It has never been adopted.

The policies at a glance

Policy	Main instrument	Effect on competition
Industrial	1991 Statement on Industrial Policy	Free entry; no licensing for most industries
Trade	Foreign Trade Act, 1992; anti-dumping duty	Import competition, with a remedy for dumping
Investment	FDI policy	New entrants
Competition law	Competition Act, 2002	Bans cartels and abuse; reviews mergers
Consumer	Consumer Protection Act, 2019	Stops unfair practices
Sectoral	TRAI, SEBI and others	Entry, access and tariff rules
Procurement	Open tenders	Rivalry for public contracts

Assessment

These policies do not always point the same way. Industrial policy may favour scale, trade policy may protect an industry, and price control may freeze prices. Competition law cannot override them. Advocacy under section 49 and an adopted national policy would make them consistent.

Conclusion. Trade in India is regulated by a group of policies, not one. Industrial and trade liberalisation since 1991 opened markets, foreign investment brought new rivals, and the Competition Act, 2002 polices conduct. Consumer law, sector regulators, procurement rules and price controls complete the picture. Bharti Airtel, Rajasthan Cylinders and Narendra Kumar show these policies interacting with competition. The missing piece is an adopted National Competition Policy.

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 9 Competition Law 2022 Apr Question Paper with Solutions

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