SC agrees to hear plea of Google against NCLAT’s refusal to stay CCI’s Rs 1,337-crore penalty order

India

oi-Prakash KL

New
Delhi,
Jan
11:
Supreme
Court
has
agreed
to
hear
an
appeal
of
Google
against
a
ruling
of
the
National
Company
Law
Appellate
Tribunal
(NCLAT),
which
refused
to
stay
a
Rs
1,337.76
crores
penalty
imposed
on
it
by
the
Competition
Commission
of
India
(CCI)
for
alleged
anti-competitive
practices

The
matter
has
been
listed
for
January
16.
Last
week,
the
National
Company
Law
Appellate
Tribunal
directed
Google
to
pay
10
per
cent
of
the
Rs
1,337.76-crore
penalty
imposed
on
the
tech
giant
by
fair
trade
regulator
CCI.
A
two-member
bench,
however,
declined
to
grant
any
immediate
stay
the
operations
of
Competition
Commission
of
India
(CCI)
penalty
and
said
it
would
pass
any
order
after
hearing
out
other
parties.

The
appellate
tribunal
has
issued
notices
to
CCI
and
directed
to
list
the
matter
on
February
13,
for
hearing
over
interim
stay.

The
NCLAT
direction
came
over
a
petition
filed
by
Google,
challenging
the
CCI
order
on
the
tech
giant
abusing
its
dominant
position
in
multiple
markets
in
the
Android
mobile
device
ecosystem,
saying
the
verdict
is
a
setback
for
Indian
users
and
will
make
such
devices
more
expensive
in
the
country.

On
October
20
last
year,
CCI
slapped
a
penalty
of
Rs
1,337.76
crore
on
Google
for
anti-competitive
practices
in
relation
to
Android
mobile
devices.
In
the
October
ruling,
CCI
had
also
ordered
the
internet
major
to
cease
and
desist
from
various
unfair
business
practices.

Democratically
elected
institutions
working
on
it:
SC
refuses
urgent
hearing
of
Joshimath
case

“…in
the
interest
of
justice
and
with
an
intent
of
ensuring
necessary
market
correction
at
the
earliest,
the
CCI
quantified
the
provisional
monetary
penalties
on
the
basis
of
the
data
presented
by
Google.
Accordingly,
the
CCI
imposed
a
penalty
of
Rs.
1,337.76
crores
upon
Google
on
a
provisional
basis,
for
violating
Section
4
of
the
Act,”
a
CCI
release
said.

This
was
challenged
by
Google
before
NCLAT,
which
is
an
appellate
authority
over
the
CCI
against
any
direction
issued
or
decision
made
or
order
passed
by
the
regulator.

In
its
petition,
Google
had
sought
an
interim
stay
over
the
penalty.

Android
has
greatly
benefitted
Indian
users,
developers,
and
Original
Equipment
Manufacturers
(OEMs)
and
powered
India’s
digital
transformation,
Google
had
said.

It
also
alleged
that
the
Director
General
(DG)
has
copy-pasted
paragraphs
from
the
rulings
of
foreign
authorities.

With
inputs
from
PTI

Story first published: Wednesday, January 11, 2023, 11:53 [IST]