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"We are victims," says Madison in writ petition filed against the CCI
The Writ Petition, filed against the CCI and its Director General (DG), contends that the investigation, which led to a search and seizure operation at Madison's Mumbai office, is flawed.
Madison, a member of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), asserted in its petition that the AAAI and its members were, in fact, the "victims of the buyers’ cartel of the members of ISA".
A legal battle has erupted in the advertising industry as Madison Communications Pvt. Ltd. has moved the Delhi High Court to challenge an investigation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), arguing that the anti-trust probe is unfairly targeting the wrong parties and diverting focus from an alleged "buyers cartel" formed by advertisers.
The Writ Petition, filed against the CCI and its Director General (DG), contends that the investigation, which led to a search and seizure operation at Madison's Mumbai office, is flawed because the original leniency application filed in February 2024 "had primarily alleged buyers cartel by advertisers under the platform of Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA)"
According to the synopsis filed with the High Court, the CCI's own Prima Facie Order noted that the advertisers, operating under the banner of the ISA, allegedly circulated a Model Agency Agreement (MAA). This MAA is stated to have "restricted the scope of negotiations between advertisers and advertising agencies" and "adversely affected the revenue model of the advertising agencies," which include Madison Communications.
Madison, a member of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), asserted in its petition that the AAAI and its members were, in fact, the "victims of the buyers’ cartel of the members of ISA". The AAAI even circulated its own "Guidelines on Media Agency Remuneration" as a defensive measure "to protect the interest of its members" against the ISA’s action
The Writ Petition, filed against the CCI and its Director General (DG), contends that the investigation, which led to a search and seizure operation at Madison's Mumbai office, is flawed because the original leniency application filed by Dentsu Aegis in February 2024 "had primarily alleged buyers cartel by advertisers under the platform of Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA)".
The petition states, "ISA circulated a Model Agency Agreement (“MAA”), which restricted the scope of negotiations between advertisers and advertising agencies; and adversely affected the revenue model of the advertising agencies and negatively impacted their estimated turnover."
Madison's petition highlights that this scope was an act of "excessive delegation" by the CCI, allowing the DG to conduct a "fishing and roving inquiry". The company pointed out a significant discrepancy in the enforcement action: The DG conducted a high-profile search and seizure operation, which lasted nearly 20 hours (March 18-19, 2025), at the offices of Madison Communications.
However, the company alleges that "no such search and seizure was conducted upon the members of ISA".
The petitioners, which include company Chairman Sam Balsara and Executive Director Vikram Sakhuja, argue that the DG's actions were discriminatory and arbitrary, causing immense reputational loss.
Madison is seeking an order from the High Court to quash the search and seizure, declare the action illegal, and set aside the CCI’s initial Prima Facie Order, on the grounds that it suffers from "non-application of mind, arbitrariness and excessive delegation" of statutory function. The petition is also seeking to quash subsequent summons issued to the firm's top executives.
The matter will be heard by bench of Delhi HC led by Justice Sachin Dutta on 13 October.
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