JUDGMENT :

SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.

Facts:

1. A complaint received by the Competition Commission of India (for short ‘appellant/CCI’) from respondent No. 4 seeking investigation under the Competition Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Competition Act’) in respect of State Lottery run by the State of Mizoram (respondent No. 1) has given rise to the present dispute. The jurisdiction of CCI to inquire into allegations of bid rigging, collusive bidding, and cartelisation in the tender process for appointment of selling agents and distributors for lotteries organised in the State of Mizoram has been challenged in the present proceedings by the successful bidders and to a much lesser extent, by the State of Mizoram.

2. The State of Mizoram issued an Invitation for Expression of Interest (for short ‘EoI’) through respondent No. 2, the Director, Institutional Finance and State Lottery (IF&SL) on 20.12.2011 inviting bids for the appointment of lottery distributors and selling agents for state lotteries to be organised by the Government of Mizoram in terms of the Mizoram Lotteries (R