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In January 2020, the CCI launched an investigation into Amazon, Flipkart, and their affiliated entities
The CCI’s probe order came after a complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasang. (Representative image)
The Supreme Court on Monday transferred to Karnataka High Court petitions of Amazon and Flipkart, challenging a Competition Commission of India order for a probe into the e-commerce giants for alleged malpractices.
Pleadings to Be Completed with Reasonable Time
A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said if pleadings in some of the transferred petitions were not completed, the judge seized of the matter would grant reasonable time to complete the pleadings.
All Petitions Transferred to Karnataka High Court
“It will be appropriate if all the petitions which are the subject matter of this transfer petition are transferred for hearing to the High Court of Karnataka,” the bench said.
Attorney General Updates on Multiple Pleas
During the hearing, Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the apex court that, after filing of the present petition by fair trade regulator the Competition Commission of India (CCI), five pleas had been filed in different high courts.
Supreme Court Orders Future Petitions to Follow Suit
The top court directed that these petitions be transferred to the High Court of Karnataka.
“If similar petitions are hereafter instituted in any other high court, the same shall be also covered by this order,” the bench said.
CCI Seeks Consolidation of Cases Across High Courts
The apex court had earlier issued a notice on the plea filed by the CCI, which sought the transfer of the petitions filed by the e-commerce giants from the high courts to the top court or Delhi High Court.
In its plea before the top court, the CCI sought directions to transfer either to the Supreme Court or Delhi High Court the cases pending before the high courts of Allahabad, Madras, Telangana, Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, and Karnataka.
Why Is CCI Probing Amazon and Flipkart?
The fair trade regulator ordered the probe into Flipkart and Amazon following allegations of malpractices, including deep discounting and tie-ups with preferred sellers on their platforms.
The CCI’s probe order came after a complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasang, whose members comprise many traders of smartphones and related accessories.
Amazon and Flipkart filed separate petitions in various high courts, challenging the CCI’s probe order.
Allegations Against E-Commerce Giants
In January 2020, the CCI launched an investigation into Amazon, Flipkart, and their affiliated entities over alleged anti-competitive practices. The allegations included favoring certain sellers closely linked to these e-commerce platforms.
In April 2022, CCI carried out search-and-seizure operations targeting major sellers on these platforms. During the raids, the commission seized various electronic data, including emails and financial records.
At the time, the investigation primarily focused on Amazon and Flipkart. However, since several sellers had financial ties to these platforms, CCI conducted raids on them as well. This move sparked legal challenges from the sellers, including Cloudtail, who argued that they were third parties unrelated to the platforms under investigation. They contended that CCI was only authorised to raid entities directly under probe, not third-party sellers.
Entities subjected to the raids included Cloudtail, Appario Retail, and Rocket Kommerce, among others. Earlier this year, Appario Retail informed the Karnataka High Court that despite cooperating fully with the CCI’s investigation, the commission had chosen to raid its premises.
