In a significant development in the antitrust legal battles involving tech giant Google, the Supreme Court of India began addressing cross-pleas on Thursday, concerning Google’s Android mobile practices. The case, spotlighting allegations of anti-competitive behaviors, is set for an extensive hearing anticipated to span five to six days, stated Senior Advocate Harish Salve, representing Google.
This legal contest traces back to a previous ruling by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on March 29, last year, where a penalty of ₹1,338 crore was upheld against Google for its monopolistic practices on the Android platform. However, the tribunal provided relief by setting aside specific conditions, such as the requirement for Google to allow third-party app stores on its Play Store.
Currently, the apex court, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, has scheduled the cross-pleas for a hearing amidst other ongoing cases. The pleas, however, might not be heard on the expected date due to pre-scheduled part-heard matters.
The contention in the Supreme Court stems from appeals by both Google and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the NCLAT’s verdict. The tribunal, in its detailed 189-page order, had mostly sided with the CCI’s directives, which included significant mandates like allowing users to select their default search engine during initial device setup and preventing compulsory pre-installation of Google apps.
Google’s challenges to the CCI’s directives were only partly successful at the NCLAT, which dismissed some of the regulator’s restrictions but upheld the hefty fine and most of the corrective actions prescribed.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had stated that it would hear these cross-pleas in September. In preparation, the bench appointed lawyer Sameer Bansal as the nodal counsel to assist in streamlining the digital pleadings, ensuring a comprehensive examination of the arguments presented.
