The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a policy think-tank for Indian start-ups, has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal) decision of refusing a stay on the penalty levied by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

“The verdict issued by the Supreme Court is a monumental step towards fair competition and practices in India. It is imperative to send out a strong message that abusing one’s dominant position or resorting to unfair practices will not go unnoticed. This decision could potentially embolden the start-up ecosystem in the country, boost innovation, and encourage smaller players to enter the market,” said ADIF spokesperson.

The spokesperson added that Google should stop making “disrespectful allegations towards Indian statutory bodies” such as CCI’s investigative report copy-pasting the content and Google should respect the Indian statutory authorities and law of the land.

The CCI had fined Google India ₹1,337 crore for abusing its dominant position in the Android ecosystem back in October 2022. Apart from the monetary penalty imposed on the behemoth, CCI had also issued a cease-and-desist order for all the anti-competitive practices which Google was involved in. 

The matter was listed for admission before the NCLAT on January 11, 2023, wherein the tribunal refused the stay and asked Google to submit 10 per cent of the penalty amount. The Bench also observed that “Findings by CCI cannot be said to be without jurisdiction or with manifest error”.

The apex court affirmed the order of NCLAT declining interim relief to Google. The court has directed Google to comply with the remedial directions given by the CCI in a week’s time.

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