Madison Communications has filed a petition before the Delhi High Court challenging the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) ongoing probe into alleged cartelisation among marketing and communications groups. The agency claims that its executives were questioned without access to legal counsel and that it was not provided adequate information about the proceedings.

According to media reports, the agency told the court that its executives were questioned without access to legal counsel and that it had not been given adequate information about the probe proceedings. It has urged the court to halt the investigation being carried out by the CCI.

The matter is listed for hearing on Friday (10 October).

The case filed by Madison on 8 October marks the first legal challenge seeking to halt the CCI’s investigation, which has cast a wide net over the country’s top advertising and media firms.

Earlier in March, the CCI conducted search and seizure operations at the offices of several leading agencies, including WPP’s GroupM, Dentsu, Publicis, Omnicom, Madison, and IPG Mediabrands, as well as at industry bodies such as the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA). The raids, spanning locations across Delhi, Gurugram, and Mumbai, are part of what is seen as the regulator’s most stringent action to date against suspected anti-competitive practices in the advertising sector.

According to filings made by the CCI before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi, the commission alleged that cartel arrangements existed among advertisers and media agencies through their respective industry associations - the ISA and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).

Madison’s plea adds a new legal dimension to the ongoing probe, which has sent ripples through India’s advertising and media ecosystem. The outcome of the hearing is expected to influence how the competition watchdog’s investigation proceeds against other agencies named in the case.