Supreme Court To hear Google And CCI Pleas On Android Mobile Device In September

Supreme Court To hear Google And CCI Pleas On Android Mobile Device In September

Both had challenged the verdict of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on the alleged anti-competitive practices

The Supreme Court has stated that it will hear the cross-pleas of Google and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in the second week of September.

The two had challenged the verdict of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in a case related to the tech giant's alleged anti-competitive practices in the Android mobile device matter.

While appearing for an entity, senior advocate Harish Salve said that the plea may be kept for final disposal later.

The bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra took up the appeals, scheduling the hearing after two months.

Earlier, the bench appointed Lawyer Sameer Bansal as the nodal counsel for preparing common digital pleadings with the assistance of lawyers from both parties for easy adjudication.

On 29 March 2023, the NCLAT gave a mixed verdict on Google's alleged anti-competitive practices, upholding a fine of Rs.1,338 crore by the CCI. However, it scrapped the condition of allowing hosting of third-party app stores on its Play Store.

The CCI had held Google accountable for exploiting its dominant position in Android, but the appellate tribunal annulled the order, which stated that Google would not restrict the removal of its pre-installed apps by the users.

Aggrieved by the NCLAT order, Google and the CCI approached the apex court, which took up the appeals on 07 July 2023.

In its 189-page order, the NCLAT had upheld CCI's directions, including Google being asked to allow users during the initial device setup to choose their default search engine. Another stated that OEMs could not be forced to pre-install a bouquet of apps.

The order read, “The impugned order of the Commission is upheld except the four directions issued. Google is thus not entitled to any other relief except setting aside the four directions."

It further stated, "The appellant is allowed to deposit the amount of penalty (after adjusting the 10 percent deposited under the 04 January 2023 order) within 30 days.”

On 20 October 2022, the CCI had imposed a penalty of Rs.1,337.76 crore on Google for anti-competitive practices related to Android Mobile devices. It also ordered the Internet major to cease and desist from various unfair business practices.