{"id":395692,"date":"2026-09-09T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T03:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=395692"},"modified":"2026-09-08T18:32:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T13:02:39","slug":"section-26-2-competition-act-notice-cci-sail-ksd-zonne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/09\/09\/section-26-2-competition-act-notice-cci-sail-ksd-zonne\/","title":{"rendered":"What SAIL did not Decide: To Notice or not before Section 26(2) Order"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-align: center;\">An analysis of whether notice is required before the Competition Commission of India passes a closure order under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\">Competition Act, 2002<\/a>, arguing that CCI v. SAIL leaves the question open and that its reasoning favours adherence to natural justice at the closure stage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Introduction<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">On 14 May 2026, the Delhi High Court in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne Energie LLP<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref1\" href=\"#fn1\" title=\"1. 2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634.\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/a> (hereinafter, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne<\/span><\/a>&#8221;) has held that an informant is not entitled to notice or a hearing, prior to the Competition Commission of India (Commission) passing a closure order under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/a><\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\">Competition Act, 2002<\/span><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\">Competition Act<\/span><\/a>). In the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\">KSD Zonne<\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span>, the petitioner was a micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) solar developer that had availed a term loan from Canara Bank. The petitioner was aggrieved by retrospective interest hikes, the bank&#8217;s refusal to release title documents for a loan takeover, and Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) proceedings. It filed information before the Commission alleging abuse of dominance and an anti-competitive agreement with the bank&#8217;s valuers under Sections <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531253\" target=\"_blank\">3<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531264\" target=\"_blank\">4<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\">Competition Act<\/span><\/a>. Without issuing notice or affording a hearing to the informant\/complainant, the Commission passed an order under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> on 19 May 2025 closing the matter for want of a <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">prima facie<\/span> case. The informant then moved the Delhi High Court under Article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574969\" target=\"_blank\">226<\/span><\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/span><\/a>. Justice Kaurav of the Delhi High Court dismissed the petition, holding that the Commission is not obliged to give an informant notice before a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> closure, and relegated the petitioner to the statutory appeal before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) under Sections <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531282\" target=\"_blank\">53-A<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531283\" target=\"_blank\">53-B<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\">Competition Act<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">This article questions the High Court&#8217;s reliance upon the landmark decision of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><a id=\"fnref2\" href=\"#fn2\" title=\"2. (2010) 10 SCC 744.\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a>). The claim of the article is narrow, not that Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) affirmatively requires notice at the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> stage, but that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> leaves the question open, and its considered reasoning favours notice. The argument runs in three layers. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">First<\/span>, the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> notice question was never an issue framed, argued or decided in the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">SAIL<\/a> case<\/span>. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Second<\/span>, even the rationale of the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">SAIL<\/a> case<\/span>, upon which the High Court relies, does not say what the High Court reads into it. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Third<\/span><\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">SAIL&#8217;s<\/a> considered reasoning, particularly its characterisation of a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> order as a final, rights-determining order with civil consequences, points the other way. The piece further discusses the High Court&#8217;s reliance on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><a id=\"fnref3\" href=\"#fn3\" title=\"3. (2026) 6 SCC 513 : (2025) 260 Comp Cas 362.\"><sup>3<\/sup><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KFEF<\/span><\/a>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Karnataka Power Corpn. Ltd.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><a id=\"fnref4\" href=\"#fn4\" title=\"4. (2026) 268 Comp Cas 447 : 2026 SCC OnLine NCLAT 514.\"><sup>4<\/sup><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KPCL<\/span><\/a>) decisions. It further explains why the High Court&#8217;s reasoning that the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531282\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">53-A<\/span><\/a> appeal supplies the informant&#8217;s right to be heard is difficult to sustain in law. More fundamentally, while the High Court hinges the non-requirement of notice upon the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">prima facie<\/span> threshold shared by Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">(2)<\/span><\/a>, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> instead gauges the application of natural justice to an order by evaluating its inherent character and the consequences emanating from it, as discussed further below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span> did not decide the Section 26(2) &#8212; Notice question<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Supreme Court has held<\/span><a id=\"fnref5\" href=\"#fn5\" title=\"5. State of Orissa v. Sudhansu Sekhar Misra, 1967 SCC OnLine SC 17.\"><sup>5<\/sup><\/a> that &#8220;A decision is only an authority for what it actually decides.&#8221; On a reading of the decision in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span>, it is clear that the Supreme Court did not decide whether notice is required before a closure order under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Supreme Court in the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">SAIL case<\/a><\/span><a id=\"fnref6\" href=\"#fn6\" title=\"6. CCI v. SAIL, (2010) 10 SCC 744.\"><sup>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> expressly limited the scope of its own enquiry. At para 70, the gateway to its analysis of natural justice, the court was emphatic: &#8220;At the very outset, we must make it clear that we are considering the application of these principles only in light of the provisions of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> and the finding recorded by the Tribunal in this regard.&#8221; That self-imposed limit governs everything that follows.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The six points framed for determination at para 30 of the judgment reaffirm the scope of determination. Point 2, the only point bearing on notice and hearing, asks about &#8220;the ambit and scope of power vested with the Commission under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a>&#8221; and whether parties are entitled to notice or hearing &#8220;at the preliminary stage of formulating an opinion as to the existence of the prima facie case&#8221;. Point 5 likewise concerns reasons for a <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">prima facie<\/span> opinion &#8220;in terms of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a>&#8221;. None of the six points poses the question of notice under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>. The court&#8217;s formal answer to Point 2 mirrors the question and is bounded to Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> and to the issuance of a direction to investigate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"\">Even para 91, on which the High Court rests, closes by limiting its own holding:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">91.<\/span> &#8230; Thus, keeping in mind the nature of the functions required to be performed by the Commission in terms of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a>, we are of the considered view that the right of notice or hearing is not contemplated under the provisions of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> of the Act.<a id=\"fnref7\" href=\"#fn7\" title=\"7. CCI v. SAIL, (2010) 10 SCC 744, 784. \"><sup>7<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The court is express about the boundary of its own holding. The High Court&#8217;s reading of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> requires the reader to treat one intermediate clause within para 91 as overriding both the framed questions, the formal answer, the gateway proviso of para 70, and the concluding sentence of para 91 itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The factual matrix in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> buttresses the point. SAIL itself was the investigated party challenging a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> direction to investigate. No case had been closed. No informant&#8217;s pre-closure rights were before the court. No argument on whether the informant must be heard before a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> order was advanced. The Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> notice question was, on every conventional measure, not in the Supreme Court&#8217;s field of vision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Delhi High Court&#8217;s reason for rejecting the obiter argument (at paras 36 and 37) was that para 91 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> &#8220;addressed both possible outcomes&#8221; and &#8220;deliberately located the hearing right as arising only after the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> stage&#8221; conflates the comprehensiveness of description with the comprehensiveness of a decision. Ratio is decided by what was asked and answered, not by the descriptive sweep of an intervening sentence. The contrary view could potentially convert every passing line that mentions a sub-section into binding ratio.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The High Court&#8217;s interpretation of para 91 appears strained<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Assuming that the line in para 91 which discusses orders under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> being &#8220;appealable before the Tribunal and only after this stage, there is a specific right of notice and hearing available to the aggrieved\/affected party&#8221;, is part of the binding ratio, the reading of the paragraph by the High Court is difficult to sustain.<\/p>\n<p>The paragraph states:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">91.<\/span> &#8230; At best, it can direct the investigation to be conducted and report to be submitted to the Commission itself or close the case in terms of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> of the Act, which order itself is appealable before the Tribunal and only after this stage, there is a specific right of notice and hearing available to the aggrieved\/affected party.<a id=\"fnref8\" href=\"#fn8\" title=\"8. CCI v. SAIL, (2010) 10 SCC 744, 784.\"><sup>8<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">&#8220;After this stage&#8221; naturally refers to the post-investigation hearing under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(5)<\/span><\/a><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"Segoe UI&quot;;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">(8)<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\">Competition Act<\/span><\/a>, when the Commission considers the Director General&#8217;s report and is bound to hear the parties before passing orders. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> itself, in para 92, identifies this as the structural purpose of investigation: It is conducted &#8220;to enable the Commission to examine the report upon its submission by the Director General and to pass appropriate orders after hearing the parties concerned&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">If, however, &#8220;after this stage&#8221; is read as applying to a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> closure, the line is in direct tension with paras 37&#8212;38, where the court holds that the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> order is &#8220;a final order as it puts an end to the proceedings&#8221;, that it is appealable under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531282\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">53-A<\/span><\/a>, and that &#8220;Closure of the case causes determination of rights and affects a party, <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">i.e.<\/span> the informant; resultantly, the said party has a right to appeal against such closure of case under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> of the Act.&#8221; If a closure determines rights and triggers a right of appeal, it is hard to maintain that the informant&#8217;s only hearing comes after the decision is taken, on appeal. An ambiguous clause in a paragraph dealing with Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> should not override the court&#8217;s clearer treatment of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> elsewhere in the judgment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">SAIL&#8217;s considered reasoning points toward notice at Section 26(2) and not the other way around<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL&#8217;s<\/span><\/a> reasoning, taken as a whole, favours notice before a closure order for the following reasons:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;\">1. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Section 26(2) entails civil consequences thereby necessitating adherence to principles of natural justice:<\/span> Paras 37&#8212;38 draw a sharp contrast between Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">(2)<\/span><\/a>. A direction under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> is &#8220;an administrative direction to one of its own wings departmentally and is without entering upon any adjudicatory process&#8221;, and &#8220;does not effectively determine any right or obligation of the parties to the lis&#8221;. An order under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> &#8220;does not entail civil consequences for any person&#8221;, as against a closure under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>, which is a &#8220;final order&#8221; that &#8220;causes determination of rights and affects a party, i.e. the informant&#8221;. Therefore, the court&#8217;s differentiating criterion is whether the order determines rights and entails civil consequences for a party. Under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>, civil consequences exist in relation to the informant, and the order consequently attracts the principles of natural justice. The 2023 Amendment to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\">Competition Act<\/span><\/a>, reinforces the point: Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2-A)<\/span><\/a> now bars reinquiry on the same or substantially the same facts, making a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> closure irreversible, especially for the informant.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: 18pt;\">At para 84 of the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">SAIL<\/a> case<\/span>, the Supreme Court, quoting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000013005\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Raj Restaurant<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">MCD<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><a id=\"fnref9\" href=\"#fn9\" title=\"9. (1982) 3 SCC 338.\"><sup>9<\/sup><\/a>, accepts that &#8220;in administrative action, which entails civil consequences for a person, the principles of natural justice should be adhered to&#8221;. A closure order has unmistakable civil consequences. It terminates the informant&#8217;s complaint, and with Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2-A)<\/span><\/a> in force, bars them from refiling. The civil-consequences test that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> endorses is, therefore, directly satisfied at closure, and natural justice must be adhered to at the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: 18pt;\">The requirements of natural justice are twin. At para 95, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> reproduces with approval the principle that an affected party must be (<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">a<\/span>) &#8220;given notice to show cause thereof and granted an opportunity of hearing&#8221;, and that (<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">b<\/span>) the resulting order must &#8220;give reason for arriving at any conclusion showing proper application of mind&#8221;. At para 97, the court adopts that reasoning &#8220;even in this case&#8221;. It then draws the operative line: Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> directions simpliciter need only &#8220;minimum reasons&#8221;, but &#8220;other decisions and orders, which are not directions simpliciter and determining the rights of the parties, should be well-reasoned analysing and deciding the rival contentions raised before the Commission by the parties&#8221;. The contrast that an order under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> is a &#8220;direction simpliciter&#8221; while an order under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> is not, is also provided in para 38 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: 18pt;\">The conclusion is straightforward. At the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> stage the Commission is not undertaking mere preparatory measures. It is passing a final, rights-determining order with civil consequences. Those consequences are concrete: the proceeding is terminated, and Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2-A)<\/a> statutorily bars the informant from raising the same facts again. The natural justice loosening that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> permits for Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> does not, on<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">SAIL&#8217;s<\/a> own reasoning, extend to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: 18pt;\">Two contrary lines in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> deserve mention. Para 91, which the High Court places strong reliance upon, describes the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">prima facie<\/span> function as &#8220;merely of administrative nature&#8221;. That paragraph, however, is addressed to Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a>, and it should not displace paras 37<\/span><span style=\"Segoe UI&quot;;\">&#8212;<\/span>38, which engage directly with the difference between the nature of the two orders. Para 83&#8217;s formulation that Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> excludes natural justice &#8220;at least at the initial stages&#8221; might be pressed to make timing the controlling factor, but SAIL reasons from character of the order, not timing. If natural justice is hinged to the timing of the order, the appealability distinction at paras 37<\/span><span style=\"Segoe UI&quot;;\">&#8212;<\/span>38 would itself collapse, since both orders are &#8220;initial&#8221; in that sense.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;\">2. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Pre-decisional silence is only excusable where a full inquiry follows:<\/span> The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span> (para 81) relies on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000019221\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Union of India<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">W.N. Chadha<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><a id=\"fnref10\" href=\"#fn10\" title=\"10. 1993 Supp (4) SCC 260 : 1993 SCC (Cri) 1171.\"><sup>10<\/sup><\/a>, for the principle that pre-decisional silence is tolerated where &#8220;the decision was purely an administrative one and a full-fledged inquiry follows&#8221;. It is settled law that a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> order is not purely administrative. The High Court in the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\">KSD Zonne<\/a> case<\/span><a id=\"fnref11\" href=\"#fn11\" title=\"11. KSD Zonne Energie LLP v. CCI, 2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634.\"><sup>11<\/sup><\/a> also relied upon <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Swadeshi Cotton Mills<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Union of India<\/span><a id=\"fnref12\" href=\"#fn12\" title=\"12. (1981) 1 SCC 664, 689 : (1981) 51 Comp Cas 210.\"><sup>12<\/sup><\/a>, to hold that:<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 54pt;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">44<\/span>. &#8230; where a statute does not, in terms, exclude this rule of prior hearing but contemplates a post-decisional hearing amounting to a full review of the original order on merits, then such a statute would be construed as excluding the audi alteram partem rule at the pre-decisional stage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: 18pt; margin-bottom: 3%;\">The qualifying condition is essential, no notice or a lack of hearing is justified because a follow-on inquiry will give the affected party a full hearing. A closure under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> has no follow-on inquiry, it is the terminus of the proceeding. The very condition that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> identifies as the justification for excluding pre-decisional hearing under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> is, on closure, absent. The Delhi High Court in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\">KSD Zonne<\/a> case<\/span><a id=\"fnref13\" href=\"#fn13\" title=\"13. KSD Zonne Energie LLP v. CCI, 2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634.\"><sup>13<\/sup><\/a> reads the appeal to the NCLAT, under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531282\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">53-A<\/span><\/a> read with Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531283\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">53-B<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">Competition Act<\/span><\/a>, as the forum to provide a first hearing after the decision taken under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>. However, a hearing at the appellate stage cannot substitute a hearing at the trial stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The Section 53-A appeal is not a substitute<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The High Court rests heavily on the availability of a statutory appeal under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531282\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">53-A<\/span><\/a> and treats the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> as having located the hearing right at that appellate stage. The Supreme Court&#8217;s recent decision in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002846367\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Krishnadatt Awasthy<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of M.P<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>.<a id=\"fnref14\" href=\"#fn14\" title=\"14. (2025) 7 SCC 545.\"><sup>14<\/sup><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002846367\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Krishnadatt Awasthy<\/span><\/a>), puts it beyond dispute, a denial of natural justice, at the initial rights-determining stage, is not cured by a fair hearing on appeal.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002846367\" target=\"_blank\">Krishnadatt Awasthy<\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">case<\/span><\/span>, the court traces the line of authority beginning with <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Leary<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">National Union of Vehicle Builders<\/span><a id=\"fnref15\" href=\"#fn15\" title=\"15. 1971 Ch 34 : (1970) 3 WLR 434.\"><sup>15<\/sup><\/a>, described as &#8220;a leading authority on the point that a failure of natural justice at the initial stage cannot be cured at the appellate stage&#8221;, and quotes Megarry, J., with approval: &#8220;As a general rule, at all events, I hold that a failure of natural justice in the trial body cannot be cured by a sufficiency of natural justice in an appellate body.&#8221; The court then records the position in unambiguous terms:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 36pt; margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">63.<\/span> Indian Courts have applied the Leary principle as a rule&#8230; . In our view, the provision for an appeal should not rest on the assumption that the appellate body is infallible. When one party is denied the opportunity to present their case, the initial decision fails to provide meaningful guidance to the appellate authority, in achieving a fair and just resolution.<a id=\"fnref16\" href=\"#fn16\" title=\"16. Krishnadatt Awasthy v. State of M.P., (2025) 7 SCC 545, 577.\"><sup>16<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">It adopts Professor H.W.R. Wade&#8217;s formulation that, where natural justice is violated at the first stage, &#8220;the procedure is reduced to an unfair trial followed by fair trial,&#8221; and states that an appeal &#8220;cannot validate what is clearly a nullity&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">That reasoning is directly applicable to the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> setting. The existence of two distinct stages at which the principles of natural justice must be adhered to supports the position that the lack of a hearing at the initial stage cannot be replaced by a hearing at the appellate stage. The NCLAT under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531282\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">53-A<\/span><\/a> exercises appellate review confined largely to the decision-making process; the question whether a <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">prima facie<\/span> case is made out turns on the facts, the contentions and the records before the Commission. The appellate body is institutionally ill-suited to reconstruct the proceedings <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">ab initio<\/span> where the informant was never heard below. At best, it may remand the matter back to the Commission with directions to hear the informant. To say that the post- Section 26(2) appeal is the moment at which the hearing right accrues is, in the language of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002846367\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Krishnadatt Awasthy<\/span><\/a>, to convert what should be a &#8220;fair trial followed by appeal&#8221; into &#8220;an unfair trial followed by fair trial&#8221;, and to strip the informant of a meaningful right of appeal from a decision that was, a nullity at the threshold. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a> itself recognises the prior question by simultaneously characterising the closure order as final and rights-determining (paras 37&#8212;38) and as appealable under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531282\" target=\"_blank\">53-A<\/a><\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002783336\" target=\"_blank\">Competition Act<\/span><\/a>. Appealability is a consequence of the order&#8217;s rights-determining character, not a substitute for natural justice at the point where rights are determined.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KFEF<\/span> and <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KPCL<\/span> do not fill the gap<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The High Court reinforces its reading of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> with two recent decisions. Neither supplies what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a> lacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The first is <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\">KFEF<\/a> case<\/span><a id=\"fnref17\" href=\"#fn17\" title=\"17. CCI v. Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation, (2026) 6 SCC 513 : (2025) 260 Comp Cas 362.\"><sup>17<\/sup><\/a>, which does not confirm a no-notice rule at Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>. What the Delhi High Court in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span><a id=\"fnref18\" href=\"#fn18\" title=\"18. KSD Zonne Energie LLP v. CCI, 2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634.\"><sup>18<\/sup><\/a> numbers &#8220;para 38&#8221; is a verbatim reproduction of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a> para 71, which addresses only Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a>&#8217;s silence on notice and contrasts it with the express post-Director General hearing under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(7)<\/a><\/span> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">(8)<\/span><\/a>. The reasoning is therefore bounded to Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> and tied to silence in that provision. Nothing in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> para 71, or in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KFEF&#8217;s<\/span><\/a> reproduction of it, extends that silence reasoning to Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>. Whether it does is a separate question, and one that, as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> itself shows, turns on the nature of the order, not statutory silence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The second is the NCLAT&#8217;s decision in the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\">KPCL case<\/a><\/span><a id=\"fnref19\" href=\"#fn19\" title=\"19. Karnataka Power Corpn. Ltd. v. CCI, (2026) 268 Comp Cas 447 : 2026 SCC OnLine NCLAT 514.\"><sup>19<\/sup><\/a>, which holds that no notice is required under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> because the statute is silent. That reasoning does not engage with the very distinction the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> draws at paras 37<\/span><span style=\"Segoe UI&quot;;\">&#8212;<\/span>38, 84 and 97. Statutory silence is not the relevant question. On the contrary, the NCLAT in its decision chooses to separate the two ingredients of natural justice and notes that the CCI had passed a speaking order, and that it would therefore be incorrect to say that natural justice has not been adhered to. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> does not treat the two ingredients of natural justice (the right to a fair hearing and the requirement to pass a speaking order) as substitutes for one another; it looks at the overall applicability of natural justice at the stage in question. The NCLAT effectively splits the two ingredients and holds that adherence to one alone suffices for the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">That reasoning is difficult to reconcile with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span>, which asks whether the order is an administrative direction without civil consequences, as in Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> where natural justice is loosened, or a rights-determining order with civil consequences, as in Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>, where the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> itself says natural justice in both its ingredients must be adhered to. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> loosens the natural justice obligation for Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> precisely because it entails no civil consequences and is preparatory; it does not loosen it for Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>, which is final and rights-determining on the court&#8217;s own characterisation. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KPCL<\/span><\/a> sidesteps that distinction altogether. While the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KPCL<\/span><\/a> order in the appeal preferred against it, it did so without recording reasons and dismissed the appeal at the threshold. That dismissal does not answer the question of notice at the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> stage, which the Supreme Court left open in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span>, and nor does it engage with the distinction<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a> itself draws between the two orders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Conclusion<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The High Court&#8217;s reasoning in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span><a id=\"fnref20\" href=\"#fn20\" title=\"20. KSD Zonne Energie LLP v. CCI, 2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634.\"><sup>20<\/sup><\/a> rests on a single intermediate clause in para 91 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span>, read in isolation from the rest of the judgment. The opening proviso at para 70, the six points framed for determination at para 30, the formal answer to Point 2, and the closing sentence of para 91 itself all confine the holding in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> to Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a>. On the very order in question, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> speaks in its own voice: at paras 37<\/span><span style=\"Segoe UI&quot;;\">&#8212;<\/span>38 a Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> closure is a final order which causes determination of rights and affects the informant; at para 84 administrative action with civil consequences must adhere to natural justice; and at paras 95 and 97 natural justice has twin ingredients of notice and reasons, with determinative orders required to engage rival contentions. Each of these strands points toward, not against, a hearing before closure.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Neither <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KFEF<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref21\" href=\"#fn21\" title=\"21. CCI v. Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation, (2026) 6 SCC 513 :  (2025) 260 Comp Cas 362.\"><sup>21<\/sup><\/a> nor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KPCL<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref22\" href=\"#fn22\" title=\"22. Karnataka Power Corpn. Ltd. v. CCI, (2026) 268 Comp Cas 447 : 2026 SCC OnLine NCLAT 514.\"><sup>22<\/sup><\/a> repairs the gap. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KFEF<\/span><\/a> merely reproduces the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> para 71, which is itself addressed only to Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a> and reasons from the silence of that provision; that reasoning does not, of its own force, extend to Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KPCL<\/span><\/a> treats statutory silence as dispositive without engaging with the character-based distinction the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> itself draws between preparatory and rights-determining orders. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KPCL<\/span><\/a> also separates the two ingredients of natural justice, treating compliance with the speaking-order requirement as sufficient on its own. That approach finds no support in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span>, which treats the requirements of notice and reasons together: loosened together for Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(1)<\/span><\/a>, and otherwise adhered to in full. And after the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002846367\" target=\"_blank\">Krishnadatt Awasthy<\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">case<\/span><\/span>, the contention that the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531282\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">53-A<\/span><\/a> appeal cures the absence of a pre-decisional hearing is no longer tenable: a failure of natural justice at the rights-determining stage is not validated by a fair hearing on appeal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The defensible position is therefore narrower than the proposition that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a> requires notice at the Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001531249\" target=\"_blank\">26(2)<\/span><\/a> stage. It is that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> leaves the question open, and that its considered reasoning favours notice. The High Court&#8217;s contrary reading in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> converts undecided dicta into a holding of the judgment, and displaces<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL&#8217;s<\/span><\/a> own characterisation of the very order in question. Therefore, the no-notice requirement adopted in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span> cannot be securely grounded in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">case<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr\/>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">*Advocate, currently practising before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, and various tribunals. He was previously a competition lawyer at a reputed law firm. Author can be reached at: <a href=\"mailto:advshouryamitra@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\">advshouryamitra@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn1\" href=\"#fnref1\">1.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn2\" href=\"#fnref2\">2.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">(2010) 10 SCC 744<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn3\" href=\"#fnref3\">3.<\/a> (2026) 6 SCC 513 : <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\">(2025) 260 Comp Cas 362<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn4\" href=\"#fnref4\">4.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\">(2026) 268 Comp Cas 447 : 2026 SCC OnLine NCLAT 514<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn5\" href=\"#fnref5\">5.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000057994\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of Orissa<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Sudhansu Sekhar Misra<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000057994\" target=\"_blank\">1967 SCC OnLine SC 17<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn6\" href=\"#fnref6\">6.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span>, <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">(2010) 10 SCC 744<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn7\" href=\"#fnref7\">7.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span style=\"font-size: 9.0pt;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\" style=\"Opan sans&quot;;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a>,<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span> <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">(2010) 10 SCC 744<\/a>, 784.<\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"Hyperlink\" style=\"font-size: 12.5pt; font-style: italic;\"><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn8\" href=\"#fnref8\">8.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\" style=\"Opan sans&quot;;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">SAIL<\/span><\/a>,<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span> <\/span><span style=\"Open Sans&quot;; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000043859\" target=\"_blank\">(2010) 10 SCC 744<\/a>, 784.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn9\" href=\"#fnref9\">9.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000013005\" target=\"_blank\">(1982) 3 SCC 338<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn10\" href=\"#fnref10\">10.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000019221\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\">1993 Supp (4) SCC 260<\/span><\/a> : 1993 SCC (Cri) 1171.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn11\" href=\"#fnref11\">11.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne Energie LLP<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span>, <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn12\" href=\"#fnref12\">12.<\/a> (1981) 1 SCC 664, 689 : (1981) 51 Comp Cas 210.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn13\" href=\"#fnref13\">13.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne Energie LLP<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span>, <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn14\" href=\"#fnref14\">14.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002846367\" target=\"_blank\">(2025) 7 SCC 545<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn15\" href=\"#fnref15\">15.<\/a> 1971 Ch 34 : (1970) 3 WLR 434.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn16\" href=\"#fnref16\">16.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002846367\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Krishnadatt Awasthy<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of M.P<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span>, <span style=\"Open Sans&quot;; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002846367\" target=\"_blank\">(2025) 7 SCC 545<\/a>, 577.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn17\" href=\"#fnref17\">17.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span> v.<\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\"> Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation<\/a><\/span>,<\/span><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span> <\/span>(2026) 6 SCC 513 :<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\">(2025) 260 Comp Cas 362<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn18\" href=\"#fnref18\">18.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne Energie LLP<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span>, <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn19\" href=\"#fnref19\">19.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Karnataka Power Corpn. Ltd.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span>, (2026) 268 Comp Cas 447 : 2026 SCC OnLine NCLAT 514<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn20\" href=\"#fnref20\">20.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">KSD Zonne Energie LLP<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span>, <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003583628\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine Del 4634<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn21\" href=\"#fnref21\">21.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous;\"><span class=\"Hyperlink\" style=\"Opan sans&quot;;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span>, (2026) 6 SCC 513 : <span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span> <\/span><span style=\"Open Sans&quot;; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9002901357\" target=\"_blank\">(2025) 260 Comp Cas 362<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn22\" href=\"#fnref22\">22.<\/a> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003433414\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Karnataka Power Corpn. Ltd.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCI<\/span>, (2026) 268 Comp Cas 447 : 2026 SCC OnLine NCLAT 514<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Shourya Mitra*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67011,"featured_media":395694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42503,1191],"tags":[114292,114293,2505,114294,114295,114296,114291,114297],"class_list":["post-395692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-analysis","category-op-ed","tag-cci-section-262-closure-order","tag-cci-v-sail","tag-Competition_Commission_of_India","tag-ksd-zonne-energie-llp-v-cci","tag-natural-justice-competition-act","tag-notice-before-closure-order","tag-section-262-competition-act-notice","tag-section-53-a-appeal-nclat"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Section 26(2) Competition Act: Notice Before Closure Order? | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An analysis of notice under Section 26(2) of the Competition Act, examining CCI v. 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