Google moves Supreme Court against NCLAT order upholding CCI's Rs 1,337 crore penalty

Google on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order upholding Rs 1,337 crore penalty imposed on the company by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for anti-competitive conduct in the Android ecosystem. 

A Google spokesperson stated that the appeal has been filed because while the NCLAT correctly recognised that the harm for anti-competitive behaviour needs to be proven, but it failed to apply this requirement to several directions issued by the CCI that were upheld, according to media reports. 

The NCLAT had sustained the order saying that the order of the competition watchdog did not infringe upon the principles of natural justice.

In February, Google had argued before the NCLAT that the imposition by the CCI on its mobile app distribution agreement with device makers was "unfair", as it did not impose restrictions on device makers to install other apps, including those of rivals. 

The Supreme Court on January 19 declined to grant a stay on the NCLAT order from January 4, and instead instructed the appellate tribunal to decide Google's appeal by March 31. Furthermore, the apex court refused to grant a stay on the 10 non-monetary directions issued by the CCI in its ruling on October 20 last year.

Earlier, a separate NCLAT bench issued a notice over Google's plea, instructing the company to pay 10% of the Rs 1,337 crore penalty imposed by the CCI. The bench rejected the request for a stay on the CCI order and scheduled a final hearing for April 3, 2023.

In October, 2022, CCI had slapped a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for anti-competitive practices in relation to Android mobile devices and had ordered the internet major to cease and desist from various unfair business practices.

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