The Supreme Court has decided to postpone the hearing of Google's appeal against the INR 1,337.76 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to January 2024. This delay comes after the initial hearing was scheduled for this week but had to be rescheduled due to pending constitution-bench hearings.
Google had appealed to the Supreme Court earlier this year after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) partially upheld the CCI's decision to impose the hefty penalty on the tech giant. The penalty was related to allegations of Google abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile devices market.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra assured that the case would be listed in the last week of January 2024. Chief Justice Chandrachud expressed his intention to prioritize the case, stating, "I will ensure that no other cases are listed then so that the matter is over in a couple of days."
The CCI had initially imposed the INR 1,337.76 crore penalty on Google in October 2022, directing the tech giant to cease anti-competitive practices and make necessary conduct modifications within a defined timeline.
The NCLAT's decision upheld six aspects of the CCI's directions, including ruling against Google's precondition of requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the entire Google Suite of 11 applications. It also agreed that manufacturers should have the freedom to develop Android-forks-based smart devices without being obligated to include Google's proprietary apps.
However, the NCLAT did set aside four of the CCI's directions. Notably, the directive requiring Google not to deny OEMs, app developers, and competitors access to its play services Application Programming Interface (APIs) was among those set-aside.
This case is just one of the legal challenges Google is facing in India. The company was fined INR 936 crore in a separate case related to its Play Store policies by the CCI last year. Google initially challenged this penalty in the Supreme Court but later withdrew the case. The NCLAT is expected to begin hearing Google's appeal against the CCI's penalty order in November.
As Google continues to navigate these legal proceedings, the outcomes of these cases will likely have significant implications for the tech giant's operations in India and its approach to competition and market practices.
Source: Link
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