Delhi High Court allows inquiry against CCI officer for tampering with evidence in ONGC cement cartel probe

The Delhi High Court has upheld disciplinary proceedings against a Competition Commission of India (CCI) officer accused of tampering with witness statements recorded during a probe into alleged cartelisation in ONGC’s oil well cement tenders [Vijay Bishnoi Vs UoI]..By way of a judgment delivered on September 32, a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia dismissed an appeal by CCI Deputy Director (Law) Vijay Bishnoi and directed completion of the inquiry and passage of a final disciplinary order within six months.The Court left the question of whether Bishnoi had tampered with the statements to the inquiry authority.“The charge concerns the manner in which the statements of Mr. Swaminathan and Mr. Parthasarathy came to be recorded and signed; whether the charge is established is a matter of evidence to be determined by the Inquiring Authority,” the Court said..The investigation arose from ONGC’s July 2020 complaint alleging bid rigging in oil well cement tenders.In December 2022, seven teams searched cement companies’ premises. Bishnoi’s team searched one of India Cements’ two Chennai premises. Officials Dheeraj Rohilla and V Sriraj from another team recorded statements of company officials Swaminathan and Parthasarathy. The signed statements were deposited with the CCI.On April 24, 2023, Additional Director General Amit Tayal and Sriraj reported that Bishnoi had allegedly admitted to tampering with the statements. Following a preliminary inquiry, Bishnoi was suspended on May 19, 2023.The CCI approved major penalty proceedings and a draft chargesheet. After the Central Vigilance Commission concurred, the CCI chairperson directed issuance of the charge memorandum.Bishnoi challenged the approval process and argued that the Director General’s subsequent reliance on the same statements undermined the tampering allegation..A single-judge of the High Court rejected Bishnoi’s challenge to the charge memorandum, holding that the CCI had validly approved the charges. Bishnoi appealed against this order. Bishnoi then approached the division bench..The division bench held that these submissions concerned the factual basis of the tampering allegation rather than the validity of the approval process. Bishnoi could place the material before the inquiry authority, which must consider it on its merits, uninfluenced by the Court’s observations, the bench said.It further clarified that the chairperson’s administrative powers did not include the disciplinary jurisdiction vested in the Commission. In this case, however, the chairperson had merely directed issuance of charges already approved by the CCI.The Court noted that the inquiry had remained stalled after an interim order was passed in December 2024 while Bishnoi remained suspended.Hence, Court directed resumption of the inquiry and conclusion within six months..Bishnoi was represented by Senior Advocates Harin P Raval and Gautam Narayan, along with advocates Sanjiv Kumar Saxena, Ramneek Mishra, Mukesh Kumar Tiwari, Urmi H Raval, Shreya Bansal, Shrestha Narayan, Mukul Yadav and Asmita Singh..The CCI was represented by Senior Advocate Vinay Kumar Garg along with advocates Shlok Chandra, Parikshit Singh Bhati, KS Rekhi and Lolita Crasta..[Read Judgment]