Supreme Court to hear Google's plea against CCI order on January 19

In October, the CCI imposed a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for abusing its position in various markets in relation to Android mobiles

The Supreme Court on January 18, deferred the hearing of tech giant Google’s appeal against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) order on the Android ecosystem till January 19.

Though the Bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices P S Narasimha and Krishna Murari initially contemplated sending the case back to National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) for reconsidering the interim order, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Venkatraman argued that the case is bound to come back to the Supreme Court in appeal again.

The ASG informed the bench that the case is of national importance and is being followed closely, thus there is a high probability that the losing side before the NCLAT will come appeal against the order to the Supreme Court.

The Bench on January 16, noted that by filing an appeal on the eleventh hour before the NCLAT against the order of CCI in the Android matter, Google created 'contrived urgency' in seeking a stay.

On January 4, the NCLAT admitted Google’s appeal against the CCI order while denying any interim relief to the tech giant. The CCI order passed in October 2022 had, apart from imposing a penalty of Rs. 1338 crore, asked the tech giant to cease and desist from unfair business practices. The competition watchdog also asked Google to modify its conduct within a defined timeline.

The order mandated Google not to force Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of smart devices to pre-install its own apps or restrict users from uninstalling such apps. Further, the US-based company was asked not to offer any incentives to OEMs in order to ensure the exclusivity of its search services.

The CCI said that Google leveraged its dominant position in the app store market for Android OS to protect its position in online general search. It also leveraged its dominant position in the app store market for Android OS to enter as well as protect its position in the non-OS-specific web browser market.