Supreme Court to hear on January 19, 2023 Google’s plea for stay on CCI’s ₹1,337-crore penalty

On October 25, CCI had slapped a penalty of ₹936.44 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies. 
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Thursday the merits of granting a stay in a petition filed by Google against a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order imposing ₹1,337-crore penalty on it for alleged anti-competitive practices in relation to Android mobile devices.

The case came up at 3.45 pm before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Wednesday. With just a quarter of an hour of court time left, the Bench told the lawyers that it would commence the hearing on January 19 morning.

Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman, for CCI, emphasised on the gravity of the issue, saying “this is a matter of national importance. The world is looking at us”.

Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for Google, agreed about the seriousness of the issue.

He had earlier submitted that the “extraordinary directions” of the CCI which were under challenge had to be complied with by January 19.

He had said there was no delay whatsoever on the part of the company to challenge the CCI order and vehemently denied the Bench’s oral observation that a “contrived emergency” to hear the case was being made out.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had refused to provide any interim relief to the U.S. tech giant. Instead, the tribunal had posted the case in April, virtually rendering Google’s appeal infructuous, Mr. Singhvi submitted.

“There is no finding of abuse of dominance,” he argued. He said there was no evidence to support the findings of the competition watchdog. The appellate tribunal had directed Google to deposit 10% of the fine before its registry in the next four weeks.

On October 25, CCI had slapped a penalty of ₹936.44 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies.