NEW DELHI:

India's antitrust regulator warned its employees in an internal memo not to disclose information to the media unless they are authorized to do so, citing a 60-year-old rule that prohibits such interactions, a document shows.

“It has been observed that certain information related to the cases (under review) has been published or made available in the media recently… this has been taken very seriously,” the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in an August 20 memo to all employees seen by Reuters.

CCI chair Ravneet Kaur did not respond to Reuters' queries about the memo.

The CCI is investigating high-profile companies and reviewing deals with companies such as Amazon, Walmart's Flipkart, Reliance, Walt Disney and spirits maker Pernod Ricard.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the CCI had made an initial assessment that the $8.5 billion merger of media companies Reliance and Disney in India was damaging competition due to their power over cricket broadcasting rights and had issued a warning to the company.

Reuters reported that earlier this month, in an unusual move, the CCI also recalled two reports behind closed doors detailing alleged violations of competition laws by Apple.

The internal memo from CCI staff also states that failure to comply with the rules may result in disciplinary action, adding that these also apply to officers who have left the CCI.

The memo cited a 1964 government regulation that states: “No government official shall, except under general or specific orders, directly or indirectly disclose any official document or part thereof or any information.”

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