Rahul co-founded Axiom5 after spending close to 15 years at leading Indian firms and the chambers of senior counsel. He led the competition law team at AZB & Partners in Mumbai from 2012 until 2019 and then spent three years as a counsel with the Chambers of Mr. Gopal Subramanium, former Solicitor General of India, developing the skills necessary to lead high-stakes antitrust litigation.

Rahul’s practice focuses on antitrust investigations, contentious competition litigation, and strategic merger control. Drawing from his experience in the courtroom, with the CCI, other stakeholders, and academic engagements, Rahul helps clients navigate the fast-evolving competition policy landscape in India. He has advised and represented clients on a number of complex cartels, abuse of dominance, and vertical restraint investigations across various industries. In 2023, Rahul was appointed to an expert panel tasked with drafting a new Digital Competition Act by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

Outside of work, Rahul can be found at home in Gurgaon, experimenting with Indian recipes for Sunday lunch with his wife and son.

Notable work:

• Member of the Committee for Digital Competition Law, 2023, appointed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India
• Advising and representing a technology company across a range of competition law matters
• Representing a digital cinema services provider in an abuse of dominance investigation before the CCI
• Representing a leading pharmaceutical company in an abuse of dominance inquiry and related court challenge
• Advising a leading social media company on competition policy issues
• Represented private companies from a wide range of sectors, including airlines, telecommunications, media and entertainment, internet and internet-enabled services, pharmaceuticals, automobile, cement, steel, and tyres in proceedings before the CCI
• Represented the CCI in major litigation at various courts and tribunals, including the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT), the Delhi High Court, and the Supreme Court
• Advised and represented leading Indian conglomerates, including the TATA Group and Reliance Industries, and global corporations such as Syngenta, Abbott, General Electric, Dell, Time Warner, The Coca Cola Company, SoftBank, KKR, and Carlyle, in securing merger approval for their most strategic transactions