AD Agencies
I will return after ‘Bhootnath Returns’: Nitesh Tiwari
MUMBAI: After his first directorial debut, Chillar Party, Leo Burnett’s chief creative officer (CCO) Nitesh Tiwari’s second film Bhootnath Returns, starring Amitabh Bachchan, will hit the screens in April, this year.
And it is after this that the man will return to the creative agency.
“I was supposed to join back in February and because of the film it got a little delayed,” says Tiwari rubbishing the various speculations about him not coming back to Leo Burnett.
“I will be back in April once the film releases,” says Tiwari.
Another rumour doing the rounds in the industry is that of Leo Burnett’s chief creative officer India subcontinent KV Sridhar (Pops) leaving the agency.
“I’m not going anywhere. It is all rubbish,” says Pops to indiantelevision.com. “If I stand for elections for Aam Aadmi Party, I will let people know,” he adds in humour.
In 2012, both Pops and Tiwari were handed over the additional roles of looking at the subcontinent and pan-India, respectively, with an aim to better and grow the agency.
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.
