Kochi: The Competition Commission of India on Friday slapped fines on AMMA, FEFKA and other unions on director Vinayan's complaint that AMMA and others were indulging in anti-competitive practices to restrain him from carrying on his business. The main allegation is that the Film Employees Federation of Kerala and its affiliated trade unions had imposed a ban on him. The CCI directed the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), FEFKA directors’ union and FEFKA production executives’ union to pay Vinayan a fine of Rs 4,00,065, Rs 85,594, Rs 3,86,354, and Rs 56,661 respectively.
The CCI also asked Innocent, Edavela Babu, Sibi Malayil, B. Unnikrishnan and K. Mohanan to pay a fine of Rs. 51478, Rs. 19113, Rs. 66356, Rs. 32026, and Rs 27737 respectively. The Kerala High Court had earlier dismissed the pleas filed by the filmmakers against the notice issued by the Competition Commission of India on Vinayan’s complaint. Vinayan welcomed the verdict and claimed that the unhealthy practices adopted by AMMA and others should be an eye-opener to the film world. The fines are meagre compared to the loss suffered by him in the last eight years, Vinayan said.
