The Supreme Court of India is set to commence hearings in January 2024 regarding Google’s appeal challenging a substantial ₹1337.76 crore penalty. This penalty was imposed on Google for alleged abuse of its dominant position across various markets related to Android mobile devices.
Google filed the appeal in response to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) decision, which upheld the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) ruling on the matter. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, has confirmed their commitment to hearing the case during the final week of January 2024.
Chief Justice Chandrachud expressed, ‘I will ensure that no other cases are listed then, so that the matter is over in a couple of days.’
In January, the NCLAT had instructed Google to deposit 10 percent of the ₹1337.76 crore fine imposed by the CCI before considering Google’s plea for relief against the CCI’s decision. In March, the NCLAT upheld the CCI’s penalty against Google. However, the NCLAT also overturned four key directives issued by the CCI, providing some relief to the tech giant.
The CCI had imposed the penalty in October of the previous year, along with directing Google to cease and desist from engaging in anti-competitive practices and mandating modifications to its conduct within a specified timeframe. A CCI press release stated, ‘The Commission has imposed monetary penalties and issued cease and desist orders against Google for engaging in anti-competitive practices that violate Section 4 of the Act.’
Previously, the Supreme Court had declined to grant interim relief to Google while the matter was pending before the NCLAT. The top court emphasized, ‘We resist from entering into merits, as the matter is pending in appeal with the NCLAT. The findings made by the CCI cannot be considered jurisdictionally flawed or manifestly erroneous at the interlocutory stage. While we are not interfering with the NCLAT’s order, we request the tribunal to resolve the appeal by March 31, 2023.’
Following this, the NCLAT upheld the CCI’s penalty, prompting Google to file its appeal with the Supreme Court.”
