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Journalism of Courage
Google’s case involving alleged anti-competitive practices in relation to its Android mobile devices was mentioned before the Supreme Court on Thursday, September 19.
Senior advocate Harish Salve appeared for the tech giant and said that the hearing in the case may take five to six days. However, the matter listed before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, did not likely reach for hearing as the apex court had to clear other pending cases on the list.
In October 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) held that Google had abused its dominant position in the Android mobile device ecosystem and levied a Rs 1,337.76 crore fine on the search giant. It had also ordered Google to give users a choice in selecting a default search engine while setting up their devices. The order further stated that handset makers cannot be forced by Google to pre-install a handful of apps.
Allowing sideloaded apps, third party app stores in Play Store, and sharing of APIs were a few other directives that were issued by the Indian competition watchdog. Challenging the CCI order, Google had approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) which ruled in March 2023, that the tech giant does not have to comply with the four CCI directives.
However, the NCLAT upheld the fine imposed on Google and asked it to deposit the amount in 30 days. Both the CCI and Google moved the Supreme Court against the mixed-verdict delivered by NCLAT. In July last year, the apex court had said that it will hear the cross-pleas in the second week of September 2024.
