New Delhi: Publicis Groupe has filed a lawsuit against India’s antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), accusing it of denying access to case records in a high-profile investigation into alleged price-fixing in the advertising industry.
The French advertising conglomerate approached the Delhi High Court on August 11 after its attempts to stall the CCI probe until it could review the documents were unsuccessful, according to non-public court filings reviewed by Reuters.
The CCI shook India’s nearly $30 billion media and entertainment sector in March with surprise inspections — or “dawn raids” — at leading agencies including WPP’s GroupM, Dentsu, Publicis, Omnicom, and several others. The watchdog is investigating allegations of collusion over publicity rates and discounts.
According to Reuters, CCI’s initial assessment found that the firms allegedly used a WhatsApp group to coordinate pricing, entered into secret pacts, and worked with broadcasters to block business to agencies that refused to comply.
Publicis’ filing states that without access to the case files, its Indian operations and employees are “unable to understand the allegations against them and prepare a defence.” The filing was made by TLG India, which court papers say houses most of Publicis’ advertising business in the country.
The case stems from information submitted to the CCI in February 2024 by Dentsu under the regulator’s leniency programme, which offers reduced penalties to companies that voluntarily disclose evidence of wrongdoing.
Publicis is the first company to take the matter to court. It has urged the CCI to keep the investigation “in abeyance” until it is granted case file access. In July, the CCI had asked Publicis to submit a note on its business model and its operational linkages with its parent company.
On August 4, the CCI also issued a summons to Publicis South Asia chief Anupriya Acharya, directing her to appear before investigators and furnish documents, including key contracts related to revenue sharing. Publicis has requested the Delhi High Court to quash the summons.
The CCI did not respond to Reuters queries. The court is expected to hear the case next week.
If found guilty, media agencies could face financial penalties of up to three times their profit or 10% of their global turnover, whichever is higher, for each year of misconduct.
