<p>A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia asked the carrier to face the Competition Commission of India (CCI) probe into alleged cartelisation in the aviation industry through its two-year-old strategic alliance with market leader Jet Airways.<br /><br />Following the apex court order, Kingfisher sought to withdraw its petition. The bench, that also had Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar as members, allowed the carrier to do so.<br /><br />"We are saying you a very simple thing... reply the showcause notices issued by the DG, Investigations (of CCI). Face it and wherever you feel wrong, tell them," the court said.<br /><br />The court also disagreed with the submissions of senior advocate and former attorney general Ashok V Desai, appearing for Kingfisher, that CCI was asking for much more information t han required.<br /><br />"They are asking for accounts of last several years, data on costing of flight... they are just behaving like an auditor general sitting in the office," Desai said.<br /><br />On this, the bench said, "DG, Investigations, is entitled to ask you (Kingfisher) all these. Why don't you complete your paper work?"<br /><br />In October, 2008, Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways had announced that they would form an alliance through which they would cooperate on matters relating to fuel management, ground handling and cross-selling of flight tickets to select destinations.<br /><br />The two carriers together command around 45 per cent of domestic passenger traffic.<br />The CCI had started its probe in August after finding prima facie evidence on cartelisation. The inquiry was suspended for a while after Kingfisher moved the Bombay High Court.<br /><br />However, the probe was taken up again after the High Court finally dismissed the petition. <br /><br /></p>
<p>A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia asked the carrier to face the Competition Commission of India (CCI) probe into alleged cartelisation in the aviation industry through its two-year-old strategic alliance with market leader Jet Airways.<br /><br />Following the apex court order, Kingfisher sought to withdraw its petition. The bench, that also had Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar as members, allowed the carrier to do so.<br /><br />"We are saying you a very simple thing... reply the showcause notices issued by the DG, Investigations (of CCI). Face it and wherever you feel wrong, tell them," the court said.<br /><br />The court also disagreed with the submissions of senior advocate and former attorney general Ashok V Desai, appearing for Kingfisher, that CCI was asking for much more information t han required.<br /><br />"They are asking for accounts of last several years, data on costing of flight... they are just behaving like an auditor general sitting in the office," Desai said.<br /><br />On this, the bench said, "DG, Investigations, is entitled to ask you (Kingfisher) all these. Why don't you complete your paper work?"<br /><br />In October, 2008, Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways had announced that they would form an alliance through which they would cooperate on matters relating to fuel management, ground handling and cross-selling of flight tickets to select destinations.<br /><br />The two carriers together command around 45 per cent of domestic passenger traffic.<br />The CCI had started its probe in August after finding prima facie evidence on cartelisation. The inquiry was suspended for a while after Kingfisher moved the Bombay High Court.<br /><br />However, the probe was taken up again after the High Court finally dismissed the petition. <br /><br /></p>