The Competition Act, 20021 (“The Act”) does not empower the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) to entertain any private applications for claim of compensation on account of damages suffered due to the anti-competitive activities of Enterprises.2 However,s.53N of the Act3 empowers the Appellate Tribunal to award compensation to the Central Government, State Government, local authority or any enterprise or person on an application being made by such Government, authority, enterprise or person. While the Act has allowed compensation to be claimed from the Appellate Tribunal, such an application for compensation must follow a finding of violation of the Act by CCI or the Appellate Tribunal.4 The explanation to s.53N makes it clear that decisions made by Appellate Tribunal are guided by the evidence obtained from public enforcement of the Act and the task of the Appellate authority isto merely assess the quantum of compensation, if at all it must be awarded, and not reassess on the violation of the Act. Thus, it logically follows that private enforcement in India is guided by public enforcement. Consequently, for a private individual to claim compensation for the damage caused by the anti-competitive conduct of an enterprise or a group of enterprises, he must first wait for CCI to find the enterprise to be in violation of the Act and only then file an application in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) which is the Appellate tribunal under the Act. Evidently, such a long-drawn process provesto be detrimental for the private individual to claim compensation. Not only does such individual must wait for CCI’s order but it must also file an application in an already overburdened Appellate Tribunal that further lacks in Competition expertise.