Google's appeal against CCI order in Android mobile phone case mentioned in SC

3 minutes reading time Last updated: September 19, 2024 | 5:45 p.m. IST

Google LLC told the Supreme Court on Thursday that arguments in the case over the tech giant’s alleged anticompetitive practices in its Android mobile device case could take five to six days.

On March 29 last year, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had given a mixed verdict on Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices in the case – upholding a fine of Rs 1,338 crore but removing conditions such as allowing hosting of third-party app stores on its Play Store.

The Supreme Court is hearing cross-pleas by Google and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) challenging an appellate court verdict in a case related to the tech giant’s alleged anti-competitive practices in the Android mobile devices case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra has already listed the cross-pleas for hearing on Thursday.

However, it is unlikely that these applications will be heard during the day, as the court is dealing with partially heard cases.

At the start of the day’s proceedings, senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the tech giant, mentioned the plea and said the hearing in the case could take five to six days.

It (the plea) will retain its place on board (list of cases). Let us see how things evolve… Let this case begin. We will see, the CJI said.

Earlier in July, the Supreme Court had said it would hear cross-pleas of Google and the CCI in the case in the second week of September.

The court appointed advocate Sameer Bansal as the lead counsel for preparing joint digital pleadings with the help of counsel from both the parties for smooth settlement of the case.

The NCLAT, in its verdict, upheld the fine imposed by the CCI on the tech giant for exploiting its dominant position in Android.

The NCLAT has set aside an order by the antitrust regulator that said Google would not restrict users from removing its pre-installed apps.

Both Google and the CCI have filed a complaint in the Supreme Court against the NCLAT judgment.

On July 7, the Supreme Court heard the appeals for the first time.

Earlier, the NCLAT, in its 189-page order, had upheld the CCI’s six directions, including one that asked Google to allow users, during initial device setup, to choose their default search engine, and another that made it clear that OEMs cannot be compelled to pre-install a bunch of apps.

The appellate court had asked Google to implement the directive and deposit the amount within 30 days.

It had stated that “the contested order of the Commission is confirmed, with the exception of the four directives” issued and had added that Google was “therefore not entitled to any other relief, except the annulment of the four directives above”.

“The appellant (Google) is permitted to deposit the penalty amount (after adjustment of the 10 per cent penalty amount as deposited under the order dated January 4, 2023) within 30 days from today,” it had said.

On October 20, 2022, the CCI had imposed a fine of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for anti-competitive practices related to Android mobile devices. The regulator had also ordered the internet giant to cease and desist from various unfair business practices.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First published: September 19, 2024 | 5:45 p.m. IST