Google has failed to get an interim stay on an Indian watchdog order directing it to stop abusing its dominant position in the Android operating system in the country.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday refused to grant the stay to Google on the order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that fined the tech giant Rs 1,337.76 crore and asked it to change its practices on the Android platform.
While admitting the search giant’s challenge to the order, the NCLAT directed Google to pay 10 per cent of the Rs 1,337.76-crore penalty imposed by the fair trade regulator.
A two-member NCLAT bench said it would pass any order after hearing the other parties. The appellate tribunal issued notices to the CCI and directed to list the matter on February 13.
On October 20, 2022, the CCI fined Google and directed it to allow smartphone users on the Android platform to uninstall apps and let them select a search engine of their choice. That order was to become effective from January 19.
Google had challenged the CCI order saying that the verdict is a setback for Indian users and will make Android devices more expensive.
During the proceedings at the NCLAT on Wednesday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Google, sought an immediate stay on the order passed by the CCI. Singhvi said that the CCI order was patently erroneous and fraught with errors.
He added that there was no finding of any abuse of dominance against Google by the CCI in its order.
He also alleged that the CCI in its order has copy-pasted certain parts of a ruling passed by the European Union Commission against Google earlier in 2018.
The CCI has not responded yet to those allegations.
The NCLAT bench comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar and Alok Srivastava questioned the urgency shown by Google. It observed that the order was passed by the CCI on October 20 and Google approached the NCLAT almost two months after that.
“Without a proper hearing, no order could be passed,” the NCLAT said. “You took two months to file and expect us to pass an order in two minutes,” the bench said adding “we would have appreciated it if you had filed within a week or two weeks.”
This was also opposed by counsel for the CCI. Meanwhile, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi filed an impleadment plea on behalf of Mapmyindia. The appellate tribunal allowed them to file their plea with the registry but said it would hear them at a later date.
In its October 20 order, the CCI directed Google to allow the users, during the initial device setup, to choose their default search engine for all search entry points. “Users should have the flexibility to easily set as well as easily change the default settings in their devices, in minimum steps possible,” it said. Google also has to allow the developers of other app stores to distribute their app stores through Play Store.
