Google To Move SC Against NCLAT Order After Paying INR 1,338 Cr Penalty Imposed By CCI

In a fresh twist to the ongoing CCI, Android ruling case, tech giant Google plans to move the Supreme Court to appeal against the NCLAT order. This is something unusual for any company and particularly Google who decides to appeal to the higher court despite depositing the entire penalty amount of INR 1,337.76 Cr imposed by the CCI in the Android case. 

The company has deposited the entire amount in the Consolidated Fund of India abiding by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) deadline, news agency IANS reported.

In late March, NCLAT upheld the INR 1,337.76 Cr penalty imposed on Google by the CCI for abuse of its dominant position in the Android devices market.

However, despite paying the penalty, Google is planning to move the Supreme Court to appeal against the NCLAT order, BusinessLine reported.

NCLAT in its order set aside four of the ten non-monetary directions issued by the antitrust regulator CCI. Google will appeal against the penalty of INR 1,337 Cr, as well as the remaining six non-monetary directions.

The CCI’s direction to Google to not deny original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), app developers and its existing or potential competitors access to its play services Application Programming Interface (APIs) is among the directions set aside by the NCLAT. 

On the other hand, NCLAT asked Google to comply with CCI orders including: OEMs shall not be restrained from choosing Google’s proprietary applications to be pre-installed and should not be forced to pre-install a bouquet of applications and deciding the placement of pre-installed apps on their smart devices. 

NCLAT also asked Google to comply with the order where CCI said that licencing of Play Store to OEMs shall not be linked with the requirement of pre-installing Google applications.

While NCLAT issued the order on March 29, 2023, Google will make the move at the last part of the 60 days window available for the tech major to appeal NCLAT ruling before the Apex Court.

Last year, the CCI fined Google INR 1,337.7 Cr in the Android devices case. Besides, it also imposed a fine of INR 936 Cr on the tech giant in a separate case related to its Play Store policies.

Google had earlier moved the Supreme Court against the competition watchdog’s order. However, the top court refused to hear Google’s plea and asked the NCLAT to give a judgment by March 31.

In its plea, Google said that the CCI failed to conduct an “impartial, balanced, and legally sound investigation” while ignoring evidence from Indian users, app developers, and OEMs.

The NCLAT said that the CCI investigation was not in violation of principles of natural justice.