Flipkart &Amazon Challenge Against CCI Probe : Supreme Court To Hear On August 9

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned to August 9 the hearing of the petitions filed by filed by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart challenging the orders of the Karnataka High Court which refused to interfere with the preliminary enquiry ordered by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into their alleged anti-competitive practices.The impugned order was passed by the CCI in January 2020 under Section 26(1) of the Competition Act directing the Director General to investigate into the allegations against Amazon and Flipkart. The order came on a complaint filed by Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh (an organization 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 that the e-commerce companies were abusing their competitive position. The CCI, finding prima facie merit in the complaint, a probe into the practices of Amazon and Flipkart like discounting practices, exclusive tie-ups and private labels.Both the companies moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the CCI order.On June 11, a single bench of Justice PS Dinesh Kumar dismissed the writ petitions filed by Amazon and Flipkart against the CCI order, saying, "it would be unwise to prejudge the issues raised by the petitioners in these writ petitions at this stage and scuttle the investigation". The single bench judgment was upheld by a division bench comprising Justice Satishchandra Sharma and Justice Nataraj Rangaswamy observing "in the concerned opinion of this court by no stretch of imagination the inquiry can be crushed at this stage. If the appellants are not involved in violation of any provisions of the Act of 2002 they should not feel shy in facing inquiry by CCI."(Cases : Flipkart Internet Private Ltd vs Competition Commission of India- SLP(c) No.11558/2021, Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd vs Competition Commission of India-SLP(c) No.11615/2021).Click here to read/download the order

Flipkart &Amazon Challenge Against CCI Probe : Supreme Court To Hear On August 9

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