Rinima Borah Agarwal vs. Mrs. India Inc. · Case No. 12 of 2025

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COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Case No. 12 of 2025 In re:

Rinima Borah Agarwal Informant

And

Mrs. India Inc. Opposite Party

CORAM Ms. Ravneet Kaur Chairperson

Mr. Anil Agrawal Member

Ms. Sweta Kakkad Member

Mr. Deepak Anurag Member

ORDER UNDER SECTION 26(1) OF THE COMPETITION ACT, 2002

1. The present Information has been filed by Smt. Rinima Borah Agarwal (‘Informant’) under Section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002 (the ‘Act’), against Mrs. India Inc. (the ‘OP’), a sole proprietorship firm run by Smt. Mohini Sharma, alleging contravention of the provisions of Sections 3 and 4 of the Act.

2. The Informant is stated to be an individual; a participant and runner-up of the OP’s ‘Mrs. India’ beauty pageant competition held in 2024.

3. As per the Information, the OP conducts an annual competition called ‘Mrs. India Inc.’, wherein the winner is crowned ‘Mrs. India World’ and subsequently qualifies to represent India at the International ‘Mrs. World’ stage. The runners-up of the said competition also become eligible to participate in other international beauty pageant competitions in the ‘Mrs. Category’ space, namely, Mrs. Galaxy, Mrs. International

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Summit, Mrs. Earth and Mrs. Globe, each representing India at their respective international events.

4. It is stated that the beauty pageant industry catering to married women in India constitutes a niche market. In this market, the OP holds a prominent name by virtue of the exclusive licenses it holds of the world’s leading and oldest international beauty pageants in ‘Mrs. Category’ space. It is the biggest player in India which organises beauty pageants for married women. The leading international beauty pageants, of which the OP holds exclusive license, include (i) Mrs. World (established in the year 1984, Mrs. World holds the distinction of being the oldest and the most prestigious international beauty pageant for married women with participants from over 80 countries), (ii) Mrs. Globe (established in 1996, it is open to married women over the age of 25, with participation from over 80 countries), (iii) Mrs. Earth (founded over 10 years ago), (iv) Mrs. Universe ( founded in year 2007; the OP holds a non-exclusive license thereof), (v) Mrs. Galaxy (held first in year 2002 and operates under Galaxy International Pageant system, which encompasses various categories including Miss, Mrs. and Miss Teen Galaxy), and (vi) Mrs. International Summit (established in 2021, the pageant operates under the Summit International Pageants organization).

5. The OP claims to entrust itself with the mission of empowering women in the ‘Mrs. Category’ by providing them a platform to exhibit their beauty and talent. The OP represents itself as a platform to not only groom and train the participants for international competitions in the beauty pageant industry, but also acts as a gateway to prestigious career opportunities including but not limited to becoming an actress in Hindi Cinema. Participants register or enrol with the OP to pursue their aspirations of gaining media exposure, building networks, securing advertisement endorsements and achieving personal and professional growth. This opportunity serves as a stepping stone for future endeavours, including potential entry into entertainment industry. The OP, being the biggest player in the beauty pageant industry for married women, has contributed significantly to the fame and success of many participants, thereby enhancing their visibility and prospects at the international level.

6. It is stated that in 2023, the Informant approached the OP for the beauty pageant competition for married women to be held in the year 2024. Subsequent to her contact

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with the OP, the Informant was intimated of the requirement to pay a registration fee of INR 3,000/- to the OP, which was promptly remitted by her. Thereafter, the Informant was provided an e-mail containing login credentials to access the portal run by the OP.

7. Pursuant to payment of the registration fee, the OP instructed the Informant to choose a compulsory package for training and grooming, for the Indian round of ‘Mrs. India Inc., Season 5’, specifying the price of the packages via WhatsApp communication, stating that upon payment of the chosen package, the Informant would be enrolled in the corresponding training and grooming sessions. The available packages included: (a) Basic Package priced at INR 3,25,000/-, and (b) Premium Package priced at INR 6,75,000/-. Information about these packages was neither given to the Informant at the time of registration, nor made available on the website of the OP.

8. It is further stated that the OP persuaded the Informant to choose the Premium Package instead of the Basic Package, asserting that choosing the Premium Package would entitle the Informant to a host of benefits including a guaranteed chance to be amongst the top participants in the competition for entering into international competitions. Hence, lured by the promises of the OP, with the desire to participate in international beauty pageants in the ‘Mrs. Category’, the Informant chose the Premium Package and accordingly paid for the same.

9. The Informant also received an e-mail dated 31.07.2024 from the e-mail address info@mrsindiainc.org belonging to the OP with the subject ‘Season 5 – Mrs. Beyond Giving Task’, wherein the OP asked the Informant to remit funds towards a UDAAN Charitable Trust, which is a charitable organisation run by Mrs. Mohini Sharma, the owner of the OP, and it was mentioned that the participants who raise the highest funds for the trust would secure a direct entry into the ‘Top 25’ candidates of the competition and receive the title of ‘Mrs. Beyond Giving’, in addition to a special reward from the Celebrity Jury member at the finale.

10. Pursuant to payment of the amount demanded by the OP, the 5th Season of ‘Mrs. India Inc. Competition’ was conducted from 23.10.2024 to 27.10.2024 at Jaipur. However, on 30.09.2024, the OP sent an e-mail to the Informant asking her to sign two agreements viz. (i) Non-Disclosure Agreement (‘NDA’), and (ii) Participants’ Terms and Conditions (‘Participants’ T&C’). Through the said agreements, the OP imposed upon the

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Informant several onerous terms and conditions upon the Informant; however, with the date of final event approaching near and the Informant, having already paid an excessively high sum for participation, signed the said two agreements.

11. After the conclusion of the competition on 27.10.2024 and after the Informant was declared 1st runner-up and received the title of ‘Mrs. India Galaxy’ enabling her to participate in ‘International Mrs. Galaxy’ beauty pageant competition to represent India, the OP presented the Informant with another take-it-or-leave-it agreement titled ‘Winners’ Terms and Conditions Agreement’ (‘Winners’ T&C’) by way of which the OP sought to impose further unfair and discriminatory conditions upon the Informant, inter alia, including (a) prohibition on the Informant from participating in any other beauty pageant competition as a participant, consultant, judge, mentor, founder, or co-founder for a period of five years from the wining of beauty pageant for married woman in the year 2024, (b) imposing an arbitrary undisclosed sum in the nature of non-transferable and non-refundable stipulated fees, (c) making the Informant forcibly contribute monies to an organization operated by the owner of the OP.

12. Further, the OP demanded an exorbitant sum going up to INR 25,00,000/- from the Informant to enable her participation in ‘Mrs. Galaxy’ international beauty pageant, 2025. This placed the Informant in a predicament where she had no viable alternative but to either pay the aforesaid amount demanded by the OP, or to forfeit her hard-earned title along with the substantial financial investment she had already made up until that point.

13. Even pursuant to this, the OP continued to make additional demands of money from the Informant on one pretext or the other, including but not limited to contributions for PR, charity, travel expenses, wardrobe and further participation in international competitions. These demands, coupled with the unfair and arbitrary agreements, which the Informant was coerced into signing, left the Informant with no reasonable alternative but to comply with the superfluous and exclusive terms of the agreements and consequently make the demanded payments.

14. Nonetheless, tired of the continuous demands of the OP, the Informant was constrained to issue a notice of termination to the OP on 31.01.2025, thereby severing her ties with the OP and explicitly requesting that the OP refrains from using her photographs,