The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the transfer of petitions filed by Amazon and Flipkart, challenging an investigation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), to the Karnataka High Court.
The CCI had initiated a probe into the e-commerce giants over allegations of anti-competitive practices such as deep discounting and exclusive tie-ups with preferred sellers.
The Court’s Decision
The bench, comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, stated that consolidating the cases in one court would be more efficient. “It is appropriate that all petitions related to this matter be transferred to the Karnataka High Court for hearing,” the bench declared. It also noted that if the pleadings in some petitions remain incomplete, the Karnataka High Court will provide reasonable time for their finalization.
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Attorney General R. Venkataramani, representing the CCI, informed the court that five separate petitions had been filed across various high courts, including those in Allahabad, Madras, Telangana, Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, and Karnataka, after the CCI’s original order for a probe. The apex court directed that all such petitions, as well as any future cases related to the matter filed in other high courts, should also be heard by the Karnataka High Court.
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The Supreme Court’s decision comes after the CCI approached it, seeking the transfer of all cases either to the top court itself or to the Delhi High Court. The CCI had launched its investigation into Amazon and Flipkart following complaints of unfair trade practices on their platforms, which reportedly harm competition and smaller businesses.
