In a crucial milestone in the Google antitrust case, the internet giant has appealed the National corporation Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) decision upholding the ₹1,338 crore antitrust fine against the corporation to the Supreme Court (SC).
Google claimed that the tribunal disregarded a number of details in the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) decision, especially when it came to demonstrating the harm caused by anti-competitive behavior
“With regard to the NCLAT’s ruling in the Android issue, we appealed to the Supreme Court. Although the NCLAT rightly concluded that evidence of harm from anti-competitive behavior was necessary, it did not apply this standard to a number of the CCI’s directives that it affirmed. We look forward to making our case before the Supreme Court and showing how Android has benefited Indian consumers, developers, and OEMs and propelled India’s digital transformation,” a Google representative said.
This action follows the NCLAT’s March finding that Google had abused its position of dominance in the Android ecosystem. It had supported the ₹1,338 crore antitrust fine issued by the competition watchdog the previous year and largely upheld CCI’s orders.
Notably, the CCI has also contested the NCLAT’s ruling before the Apex Court.
The NCLAT decided that by compelling original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to pre-install Google’s collection of mobile apps, the internet giant unfairly placed restrictions on them. Concerns regarding Google’s Anti-Fragmentation Agreement (AFA), which lessened OEMs’ incentives to create their own versions of the Android operating system (OS), were also raised by the NCLAT.
The controversy centers on the ₹1,338 crore antitrust fine that the CCI levied on Google in October of the previous year for misusing its market dominance. The competition watchdog also instructed Google to make significant adjustments to its operations in India.
Both sides have participated in legal disputes in several courts and have challenged a number of decisions, most of which favored the CCI.
The decision was made shortly after Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US. Pichai declared that Google will locate its global financial operation center in Gujarat’s GIFT City, despite experiencing regulatory difficulties there.
India continues to present Google with a tempting prospect, despite the difficulties. By 2025, the domestic digital economy is anticipated to grow to $1 trillion, according to official projections.
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