Media cartel probe: Publicis challenges CCI in Delhi HC over denial of case records
The regulator, however, continued its probe, issuing summons earlier this month to Publicis’ South Asia management and demanding documents, including contracts and revenue-sharing agreements.
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French advertising giant Publicis has filed a lawsuit against India’s antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), alleging that it was denied access to crucial case records in an ongoing high-profile price-fixing investigation into ad agencies.
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According to court filings reviewed by Reuters, Publicis approached the Delhi High Court on August 11, seeking an order directing the CCI to grant it inspection of the case documents. The company said that without access to these files, its Indian operations and employees are “unable to understand the allegations against them and prepare a defence.”
The lawsuit follows a sweeping CCI investigation launched in March 2025, which saw dawn raids on major advertising groups, including Publicis, WPP’s GroupM, Dentsu, and Omnicom, over suspected collusion on publicity rates and discounts. Publicis is the first company to challenge the CCI’s handling of the matter in court.
Publicis’ court petition was filed by TLG India, which houses most of its advertising business in the country. In July, the company had urged the CCI to keep “further investigation in abeyance” until it was allowed to review the case records. The regulator, however, continued its probe, issuing summons earlier this month to Publicis’ South Asia management and demanding documents, including contracts and revenue-sharing agreements.
The Delhi High Court is expected to hear the case next week.
On March 18, CCI officials raided several major media agencies, including Dentsu, Omnicom, Havas, Madison, IPG, GroupM, and Publicis, as well as industry bodies like the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).
The antitrust investigation was triggered by Dentsu disclosing alleged industry malpractices to the CCI in February 2024 under the regulator's leniency program, which allows lesser penalties for firms that share evidence of malpractice.
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