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Amarchand loses to Dhall: CCI slaps Hiranandani Hospital with Rs 3.81 cr (4% of turnover) fine for stem cell anti-competitive ag't

Dhall: Stem cell sell monopoly busted
Dhall: Stem cell sell monopoly busted

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has fined Mumbai's Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital with a Rs 3.81 crore fine for entering into an anti competitive agreement with a stem cell bank, reported Mint.

The hospital required patients to exclusively use Cryobank as their stem cell supplier, which a patient complained about to the CCI.

The Commission fined the hospital 4 per cent of its average annual turnover in a majority order of five members, including the chairman, against one dissenting member, Geeta Gouri.

Amarchand Mangaldas partner Pallavi Shroff represented Hiranandani, while senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan and Dhall Law Chambers, which is a part of Talwar Thakore Associates, acted for the informant.

The majority held in its order:

The plea advanced by the counsel is misconceived in as much as it is not the case of OP hospital that the patients were free to avail the services of any stem cell bank. The OP hospital’s only argument is that if a patient was not willing to take services of Cryobank, the patient was free to leave the hospital and avail maternity services of another hospital. In fact, this is not a mitigating factor rather it is another aggravating factor. The hospital knew the difficulty of a patient in leaving the hospital where the patient had all along been taking services of maternity consultant and had developed a bond with the consultant. In fact, most of such patients are afraid of going to another consultant and resign to the fate.

[Download:majority order, dissenting order of Geeta Gouri Mr. Ramakant Kini vs Dr. L.H. Hiranandani Hospital, Powai, Mumbai]

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