Google Vs CCI: NCLAT reserves judgment after hearing the case for over a month

On October 20 last year, the CCI slapped a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for anti-competitive practices in relation to Android mobile devices.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on March 20, reserved judgment in Google’s appeal against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) order, which said the company had abused its dominant position in the Android ecosystem.

A bench led by Chairperson Justice (retd.) Ashok Bhushan and Dr. Alok Srivastava heard the case and reserved it for judgment.

Also read: CCI to NCLAT: Companies that did not sign Google agreements became 'extinct'

The tribunal started hearing the case on February 15, 2023, after the Supreme Court directed it to decide the case by March 31. Over a period of one moth, the tribunal heard arguments from Senior Counsels Arun Kathpalia and Maninder Singh who appeared for Google. The CCI was represented by Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman and standing counsel Samar Bhansal.

Application developers such as MapmyIndia , Indus OS and Epic Games also argued about how Google’s policies adversely affected them and drove them to extinction.

Background of the case:

It should be recalled that in 2018, Android users alleged before the CCI that Google was abusing its dominant position in the mobile operating system-related market in contravention of the provisions of the Competition Act. It was alleged that Google asking device manufacturers to preinstall the entire GMS or Google Mobile Services suite under its Mobile Application Distribution Agreement or MADA was an unfair condition. The CCI subsequently ordered an investigation by the director general (DG) of its investigative arm on this issue.

The CCI in 2019 expressed a prima facie opinion that mandatory pre-installation of the entire GMS suite under MADA amounted to the imposition of unfair conditions on device manufacturers.

On October 20, 2022, the CCI, based on the DG’s report and other documents filed by both sides, concluded that Google was abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem. CCI asked Google to cease and desist from its practices, and pay a penalty Rs 1,338 crore.

It held that Google can neither force OEMs of smart devices to preinstall its apps nor restrict users from uninstalling such apps. It also asked the US-based company not to offer any incentives to OEMs to comply with its conditions.

Google moved the NCLAT in January but failed to get immediate relief. The company then approached the Supreme Court against the tribunal's decision. While the apex court refused to intervene in the case, it asked NCLAT to decide on the matter by March 31, 2023.