The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ruled that two textile manufacturers – KKK Mills, Ludhiana and Sankeshwar Synthetics Pvt. Ltd, Ludhiana – engaged in repeated bid-rigging and collusive bidding practices in defence procurement tenders, issuing a cease-and-desist order against the companies and the individuals concerned. The finding was published on 6th January 2026 following a detailed investigation by the regulator.
In its order, the CCI determined that the firms had contravened Sections 3(3)(d) and 3(1) of the Competition Act, 2002, which prohibit anti-competitive agreements and specifically outlaw bid rigging and other collusive conduct in tender processes.
The case originated from a reference made by the CP Cell of the Directorate General of Ordnance Services (DGOS) after an initial tender for woollen underpants was cancelled in 2019 on suspicion of price parallelism. In that tender, both companies had quoted exactly the same lowest bid price, and the pattern repeated when a re-tender was conducted in 2020. The CCI found that such identical pricing in successive tenders, combined with near-simultaneous bid submissions and communication evidence, could not be explained as mere coincidence.
The commission relied on evidence including email exchanges, call data records and business linkages to conclude that pricing and participation in government tenders had been coordinated between the parties, resulting in an appreciable adverse effect on competition in the procurement process. It held that this constituted bid rigging and collusive bidding in violation of the Act.
While the CCI chose not to impose monetary penalties—citing the small and medium enterprise status of the suppliers, the cancellation of the tender and difficulty in determining relevant turnover—it directed the enterprises and their respective individuals to cease and desist from engaging in anti-competitive conduct in future government tenders. The regulator warned that any recurrence of such practices would be treated as recidivism, with potential for more severe sanctions.
The ruling underscores intensified regulatory oversight of competitive processes in public procurement, particularly in sensitive areas such as defence supply chains, and reaffirms the CCI’s mandate to protect market competition and public interest.
