With bench strength in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, AZB & Partners acts for a roster of prominent clients, such as Google, Uber and Mercedes, in high-profile, cross-border competition matters, with merger control and enforcement work prominent in the group’s workload. The team is led by the trio of Bharat Budholia, who has an impressive track record in handling merger control mandates; Hemangini Dadwal, ‘a thorough and very prompt professional‘; and Ram Kumar Poornachandran, who acts for Indian and international clients in the digital, healthcare, energy and consumer goods sectors. Gaurav Bansal is noted for his strength in handling merger filings, often for clients in the automotive, aviation and telecoms sectors. Samir Gandhi and Nikita Agarwal are key names to note.

Khaitan & Co LLP stands out for its strength in handling multi-jurisdictional competition law matters, and has a solid track record in acting for private entities, government bodies, leading corporates and large public sector companies. In New Delhi, practice head Manas Kumar Chaudhuri advises on enforcement matters relating to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance claims, and regularly appears before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Supreme Court. Also in New Delhi, Sagardeep Rathi specialises in merger control filings, bid rigging and cartelisation issues. Mumbai-based Anshuman Sakle – who rejoined from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in mid-2022 – assists with merger control cases, abuse of dominance issues, cartel investigations, and the competition law aspects of joint ventures and distribution agreements. Anisha Chand and Pranjal Prateek are key names to note in the Mumbai and New Delhi offices respectively.

Led by John Handoll, the team at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co excels in all areas of competition law, including merger control, leniency proceedings, cartel investigations, abuse of dominance claims, and competition compliance matters. Naval Chopra is well versed in advising on complex abuse of dominance claims and merger control proceedings, also key areas of expertise for corporate and competition law expert Shweta Shroff Chopra. Harman Singh Sandhu defends large multi-national clients in high-profile cartel enforcement cases and leniency matters, while Yaman Verma and Rohan Arora are active in abuse of dominance cases. Merger control expert Aparna Mehra is also singled out.

Trilegal‘s team of ‘really hard working lawyers‘ handles the whole spectrum of competition law matters, including merger control, cartel investigations, abuse of dominance claims and compliance. Gautam Chawla and Rudresh Singh excel in representing domestic and international clients in merger control matters, cartel investigations and other contentious matters. Radhika Seth is very experienced in advising on cartelisation and bid rigging matters. Harshita Parmar and Mumbai-based Mathew George are key practitioners. Aside from George, all named practitioners are based in New Delhi. Since publication, former practice head Nisha Kaur Uberoi departed.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas' practice stands out as 'very good in antitrust matters'. The team is very experienced in advising on enforcement and merger control matters in the digital, tech and online retail sectors, with an extensive client roster of large Indian and international companies and emerging start-ups. The Mumbai-based duo Cyril Shroff and Avaantika Kakkar co-head the practice; Kakkar has extensive expertise in handling complex merger filings, abuse of dominance issues and cartel investigations, as well as advising on dawn raids, and she is sought after by companies in the pharmaceuticals, tech, financial services, infrastructure and automobile sectors. Vijay Pratap Singh Chauhan acts on major cartel investigations, bid rigging and abuse of dominance cases. Dhruv Rajain brings experience in handling enforcement and compliance matters, in addition to pre-merger filings, and Kirthi Srinivas advises on leniency applications.

The New Delhi-based competition law practice at DSK Legal stands out for its extensive expertise, often advising on merger control, cartelisation issues, bid-rigging, anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance claims, and compliance matters. The department is led by the tetrad of Abdullah Hussain, who has an excellent track record acting for clients in the manufacturing, aviation, pharmaceuticals, shipping and tech sectors; Kanika Chaudhary Nayar, who has extensive expertise in handling cartel investigations, abuse of dominance cases, anti-competitive agreements and merger control filings; Kunal Mehra, a key name for assisting prominent corporates with competition compliance work; and Abhishek Singh Baghel, who is sought after by international clients regarding a range of contentious and non-contentious competition matters.

Economic Laws Practice has excellent expertise in acting for domestic and international clients in a range of sectors, including tech, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, oil and gas, sports and entertainment, in merger control mandates and enforcement proceedings before the CCI and a range of court levels up to the Supreme Court, which are key areas of strength for managing partner Suhail Nathani and Ravisekhar Nair. Parthasarathi Jha advises tech, pharmaceutical, media and entertainment clients on merger control notifications and competition compliance issues. Abhay Joshi fields extensive experience in handling anti-competitive agreement investigations.

At JSA Law, the team has ‘up-to-date knowledge on all key competition issues‘. The group handles a wide spectrum of competition law matters, including abuse of dominance claims, cartel investigations, merger filings and contentious antitrust mandates. Practice head Vaibhav Choukse is ‘a strategic advisor‘ with extensive experience in advising on leniency matters and merger control mandates. Ela Bali, who was promoted to partner in April 2023, is ‘insightful with a keen understanding of client needs and gives practical advice‘ on competition compliance issues, dawn raids, and the competition aspects of commercial agreements. Senior associate Aditi Khanna and associate Faiz Siddiqui are singled out for their contributions.

With an extensive presence across New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, P&A Law Offices is sought after by prominent Indian companies and multinational corporations in the tech, retail, automobile, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, financial services, media and entertainment sectors. The competition practice is led by the New Delhi-based tetrad of managing partner Anand Pathak, who provides 'best-in-class, strategic competition law advice'; the 'very well informed and vigorously results-oriented' Shashank Gautam, whose workload includes cartel cases, abuse of dominance and merger control matters; Sreemoyee Deb, who is 'very well connected' and has a solid track record in representing clients in high-profile cases before the CCI and the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT); and Anubhuti Mishra, who is well versed in representing e-commerce, steel, manufacturing, automobile and retail companies in competition mandates.

Talwar Thakore & Associates' practice has solid expertise in handling merger control mandates, often appearing before the CCI. The client roster includes prominent companies in the digital markets and healthcare sectors; in a notable highlight, the firm represented Match in its complaint against Google for anti-competitive conduct in relation to in-app payments. Practice head Sonam Mathur handles the full gamut of competition law issues, including cartel investigations, abuse of dominance allegations, and complex merger control matters. Dinoo Muthappa, who was promoted to the partnership in April 2023, advises domestic and international clients in the financial services, automobiles, consumer goods and media sectors. Managing associate Shubhang Joshi is also a key name to note.

Chandhiok & Mahajan, Advocates and Solicitors‘ team has ‘rich experience in competition law‘. The New Delhi-based practice regularly handles merger control issues, leniency matters, cartels and abuse of dominance work, with particular expertise in advising clients in the tech, automobile, media, chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors. Department head Karan Singh Chandhiok has solid experience in acting for high-profile domestic and multinational corporations, such as Google, Intel and Hyundai, in competition matters. Avinash Amarnath is well versed in advising on complex cartel and abuse of dominance investigations and vertical agreements, and Deeksha Manchanda specialises in representing tech, automobile and pharmaceutical clients in a broad range of competition law matters.

Aviation work forms the backbone of Dentons Link Legal's practice, and the team has a solid track record for representing clients in litigation and investigations before the CCI. The group is also noted for its strength in assisting healthcare, energy, tech and retail sector clients with cartelisation, vertical agreements and compliance matters. The department is led by the triumvirate of Atul Sharma, Anand Srivastava and Abhishek Sharma, who is well known for appearing before the Supreme Court in competition-related disputes. Ketan Mukhija is a key name in the New Delhi office.

Operating out of New Delhi, the competition practice at IndusLaw regularly advises on merger control matters, anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance, dawn raids, leniency proceedings and compliance issues. Under the joint leadership of founding partner Avimukt Dar and Unnati Agrawal, the group has extensive experience defending companies before the Supreme Court, NCLAT, CCI, Director General and multiple High Courts in India. The team has a solid track record in assisting clients from the e-commerce, tech, telecoms, shipping, automobile, manufacturing, retail and consumer goods sectors. Senior associate Yash Lahoty acts on merger control matters and complex antitrust litigation.

Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan's practice is well versed in handling a broad range of competition matters, with a focus on anti-competitive agreements, unilateral conduct issues, abuse of dominance, bid rigging, vertical agreements and cartels. The team has solid expertise in representing clients before the CCI, the NCLAT, the High Courts and the Supreme Court, and regularly acts for companies in the automotive, infrastructure, manufacturing, aviation, e-commerce, energy, real estate and healthcare sectors. New Delhi-based Charanya Lakshmikumaran heads up the practice, in which Neelambera Sandeepan is a practitioner to note.

Luthra and Luthra Law Offices India's competition law practice, led by the highly regarded practitioner G.R. Bhatia, handles a broad spectrum of antitrust and competition law matters. The team has established strength in handling abuse of dominance issues, cartel investigations, merger control and leniency proceedings, often for clients in the manufacturing, food and drink, infrastructure, biotech, pharmaceuticals, automotive and aviation sectors. Managing associate Arjun Nihal Singh is a star name in the department.

S&R Associates‘ New Delhi-based practice handles merger control, abuse of dominance claims and cartel investigations for its roster of domestic and international clients. The group is sought after by companies in the telecoms, financial services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and travel sectors, among other areas. Simran Dhir heads up the department and regularly advises on the competition law aspects of domestic and cross-border transactions, often engaging with the CCI. Counsel Akshat Kulshrestha is very experienced in handling leniency proceedings.

New Delhi-based Arjun Krishnan heads up the practice at Samvad Partners, and leverages his extensive expertise in competition law and litigation to act for clients before the CCI, the NCLAT, the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Key sector strengths for the team include manufacturing, tech, aviation, automobile and construction. In Mumbai, Vineetha MG is sought after by domestic and multinational entities regarding merger control regulations and advising on abuse of dominance cases.

With established strength in handling merger control matters before the CCI, Saraf and Partners‘ broad competition law expertise also includes matters involving cartels, abuse of dominance allegations, leniency applications and compliance work. The team's client base includes manufacturing, financial services, automotive, retail, telecoma, e-commerce, aviation and healthcare companies. Firm founder Mohit Saraf and Akshayy Nanda co-head the practice from New Delhi, drawing on decades of combined experience in the field to assist with a range of competition law matters. Neha Mishra, who joined from Gaggar & Partners in June 2022, often represents clients before the CCI, the High Courts and the Supreme Court.