AD Agencies
Publicis CCI probe: Delhi HC rejects plea to halt investigation
HC urges parties to raise objections before the competition regulator
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has declined to interfere with an ongoing investigation by the Competition Commission of India into alleged anti-competitive conduct involving Publicis Groupe, holding that no cause of action had arisen for the petitioner at this stage.
A bench led by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav dismissed a writ petition filed by TLG India Private Limited, the Indian arm of Publicis Groupe, after noting that no formal notice had been issued to the company by the regulator.
TLG India had challenged summons and investigative steps issued in the name of “Publicis Groupe”, arguing that the reference was to a brand rather than a legally identifiable enterprise under the Competition Act. The petitioner contended that while summons were addressed to its office and employees, it was not itself named as the entity under investigation.
Appearing for TLG India, senior counsel Ritin Rai argued that investigations must be directed at a defined juristic person and sought quashing of the summons. The court, however, asked whether any notice had been issued directly to TLG India as a legal entity: an assertion the petitioner conceded had not occurred.
The CCI, represented by senior advocate Jayant Mehta, opposed the plea on grounds of maintainability, stating that notice had been issued to Publicis Groupe SA and that TLG India lacked locus to challenge proceedings in which it was not a named party.
The bench reiterated that courts are reluctant to intervene in ongoing proceedings before statutory authorities. It observed that any legal consequences arising from notices issued to an allegedly non-existent entity would have to be examined by the CCI itself. With no notice issued to the petitioner, the writ was disposed of, leaving parties free to raise their objections before the regulator.
The investigation, initiated in March 2025, relates to allegations of price-fixing and collusion among major advertising agencies and industry bodies operating in India.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
