Tribunal to hear Google vs CCI appeal from February 15

The tribunal will tentatively hear the case from February 15 till February 17.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on January 30 announced it will hear Google’s appeal against the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order holding that the tech company exploited its dominant position in the Indian market for Android.

The tribunal will tentatively hear the case from February 15 till February 17. On January 19, the Supreme Court had directed the NCLAT to conclude the case by March 31. Pursuant to this direction, Google had filed an application in the tribunal to chart a course for the hearing.

Google’s appeal against CCI mentions that the company imposed unreasonable terms on mobile phone manufacturers who wish to use Android.

CCI slapped a fine of Rs 1,338 crore and held that Google can neither force Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of smart devices to pre-install its apps nor restrict users from uninstalling such apps.

On January 4, the NCLAT admitted Google's appeal against the CCI order but rejected its request for a temporary injunction of CCI’s order. The tech giant then appealed against the NCLAT’s order on the Supreme Court.

Thereafter, on January 19, the SC declined to interfere with the case while not granting an interim stay in Google’s favour. In its hearing, the apex court also extended tech giant's time to comply with the CCI order by one week.