New Delhi: The competition commission of India has penalised Manipal Group for inadequate disclosures while raising stake in Aakash Educational Services. The competition regulator levied a Rs 50 lakh penalty on the Manipal Health Systems, Manipal Education, and Medical Group India. This follows Manipal Group's failure to notify the antitrust watchdog before completing multiple transactions to increase its stake and rights in Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL).These “contravened the provisions of Section 43A read with Section 6(2) and Section 6(2A) of the Act,” CCI ruled while adding this is a repeat offence. According to the competition regulator, Manipal Health Systems had earlier taken over an approximately 39.61% stake in AESL “without notifying the Commission” during July 2024.According to the CCI order, the Manipal entities acquired 11.03% equity shareholding in Aakash from founder J C Chaudhry without prior approval. Additionally, an affiliate acquired a 7.75% stake from Blackstone entities, and the group secured additional rights by amending to AESL’s Articles of Association without notifying the commission.The regulator ruled that various rights were granted to Manipal Health Systems together with any other entities controlled by Ranjan Pai or his relatives. These were in addition to the ordinary shareholder rights that vested in it by virtue of its shareholding of more than 26% in AESL.CCI also reiterated the mandatory regime for notifying a proposed combination to the Commission is applicable, “irrespective of whether the combination causes appreciable adverse effect on competition in India or not.”In their defence, the Manipal Group stated that immediate acquisitions were necessary to protect AESL's financial viability. This also protected “the interests of its numerous stakeholders, especially students across India who rely on its services for preparation of competitive examinations and would have faced severe disruption,” had the AESL not been able to continue operations.The commission considered Manipal group's voluntary disclosure and full cooperation as mitigating factors when deciding to cap the penalty at Rs 50 lakh for the violations.