The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has proposed changes in confidential clauses — the Confidentiality Ring — under which documents are submitted by parties and accessed by rival entities in an anti-trust case.

The CCI intends to prescribe timelines for accessing documents through the Confidentiality Ring and submission of undertakings on affidavit.

The earlier process was self-certification without affidavit. The Competition Commission has now invited stakeholder comments till March 27.

“The introduction of filing documents through an affidavit carries the risk of prosecution for perjury and submitting false documents during judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, exposing individuals to criminal liability under laws including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,” Jidesh Kumar, managing partner, King Stubb & Kasiva, advocates and attorneys, said.

“This measure aims to prevent delays and promote strict adherence to the law by both the disclosing party and recipients within the confidentiality ring,” he said.

Vaibhav Choukse, partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors said: “The requirements
of submitting undertakings on affidavits clubbed with the strict prescribed timeline for its submission will be onerous on parties, especially in cases involving foreign nationals as consularisation/ apostilisation of documents in foreign jurisdictions are time consuming, which may conflict with the prescribed CCI timelines.”

The Confidentiality Ring concept was introduced in April 2022 to enable parties involved in a case to gain access to the confidential information of other parties
and defend themselves effectively. The anti-trust has proposed that a party seeking confidentiality over information or a document furnished by it shall set out reasons for such treatment.