IndiGo Shares Down 4 pc as CCI Oders Probe for Unfair Business Practices

At the NSE, the stock declined 3.63 per cent to Rs 4,780.30 apiece. The Competition Commission on Wednesday ordered a detailed probe against IndiGo for unfair business practices, nearly two months after the country's largest airline cancelled thousands of flights due to operational issues, causing hardships to passengers.

After taking into consideration data related to airlines and those provided by the aviation regulator DGCA, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has prima facie concluded that IndiGo has abused its dominant position.

In a 16-page order, CCI said that by cancelling thousands of flights, which constituted a significant portion of the scheduled capacity, IndiGo effectively withheld its services from the market, creating an artificial scarcity, limiting consumer access to air travel during peak demand.

"Such conduct by a dominant enterprise may be viewed as restricting the provision of services under Section 4 (2) (b)(i) of the Act," the regulator said. Section 4 of the Competition Act pertains to abuse of dominant position.

Noting that prima facie the airline's conduct seems to be causing an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, CCI ordered a detailed investigation by its Director General (DG).