CCI Penalty On Google: SC Affirms NCLAT Order, Refuses To Grant Interim Relief

The Supreme Court on Thursday (January 19) denied interim relief to Google and refused to interfere in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) order refusing to stay the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI’s) penalty of INR 1,337.76 Cr on the tech giant over its market dominance in the Android ecosystem.

“While we are not interfering with the order of NCLAT, we request the tribunal to dispose of the appeal by March 31, 2023. Parties to approach the tribunal with certified copy of this order within three days and president of NCLAT to indicate time schedule for early disposal,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was quoted as saying by Bar & Bench.

However, the apex court extended the time for compliance with the CCI order by one week for Google.

Earlier this month, the NCLAT directed Google to pay 10% of the INR 1,337.76 Cr penalty and listed Google’s appeal for a final hearing on April 3, 2023. 

While hearing Google’s plea against the NCLAT order, the top court observed earlier this week that the tech giant “contrived emergency” in seeking a stay on the penalty order by approaching the NCLAT very late.

On Thursday, Google counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the tech giant was willing to partially comply with the CCI order, and added that Google would ensure the unbundling of search in Chrome from Google Play and Chrome from search.

Besides, the tech giant would also ensure that it would not pursue the search-app pre-installation exclusivity.

On CJI Chandrachud’s question as to why Google should insist on pre-installation of Chrome on smartphones and that it affects the choice provided to consumers, Singhvi said, “Google is there because of excellence, not dominance.”

Meanwhile, the CCI’s counsel denied Google’s allegations that the investigator “copy-pasted” parts of a European Union’s (EU) ruling in the order against the US-based company. 

“We have not cut, copy and paste,” said Additional Solicitor General of India N Venkataraman, appearing for the CCI, as per a report by Reuters.

The Indian competition watchdog slapped two penalties on Google in October last year, amounting to a total of INR 2,274.2 Cr ($276.37 Mn), for anti-competitive practices.

While a penalty of INR 1,337.76 Cr was imposed for forcing smartphone makers to install Google Mobile Suite on every Android mobile device, a fine of INR 936.44 Cr was levied for the big tech’s alleged abuse of dominance pertaining to Play Store policies.

It is pertinent to note that Android powers over 95% of smartphones in India.

Besides the penalty, the CCI also directed Google to stop participating in anti-competitive practices and directed it to modify its conduct within a given timeline.