Greeva Garg –
Published on: August 7, 2021, at 13:44 IST
The Supreme Court of India has adjourned the hearing of the plea filed by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart challenging the order passed by the Karnataka High Court permitting the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to continue with its investigation into their alleged anti-competitive practices.
The Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, NV Ramana adjourned the matter till August 9, at the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
The order for the probe by the CCI against Amazon and Flipkart was issued in January 2020 under Section 26(1) of the Competition Act directing the Director General to investigate the allegation of competitive law violations.
Challenging the CCI order, Amazon and Flipkart approached the Karnataka High Court with an appeal sought for quashing of the preliminary enquiry orders.
The Karnataka High Court was passed the order in the favour of a complaint filed by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh (DVM) (an organisation of retailers), who alleged that Amazon and Flipkart were giving preferential treatment to a select set of vendors by having indirect control on their operations, especially the launch of smartphones.
The DVM alleged, “The e-commerce companies were abusing their competitive position.”
The companies had denied any wrongdoing, but the High Court had said the e-commerce firms have no need to worry about the inquiry if they were not involved in violations.
The High Court stated, “Appeals filed by appellants are devoid of merit and deserved to be dismissed.”
Considering the order to in conflict to the companies’ appeal, they approached the Apex Court with the application of the plea challenging the CCI probe.
Click here to read/download the Order
Also Read: Battle of the Titans: A Deep Dive into the Amazon Vs Future & Reliance Case