Within days after the Supreme Court declining Google’s plea for a stay on CCI’s Android ruling, the tech giant is likely to approach the apex court for extending the time for compliance with the CCI’s 10 non-monetary directives.
Indications are that the tech giant will soon mention the application (interlocutory application) seeking extension of time before the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, said sources.
However, some competition law practitioners have also opined that Google may now even approach the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), or the CCI, for seeking more time to comply with CCI’s directions.
Last week, the Supreme Court, while rejecting Google plea for stay of NCLAT order, extended the period of compliance by another week, and this period expires on January 26. The apex court had also directed NCLAT to dispose of the appeal preferred by Google by March 31, 2023.
This SC ruling is expected to pave the way for start-ups to compete with Google on an even footing and has opened immense opportunities to expand. The outcome will likely spur innovation, unleash entrepreneurial and animal spirits of start-ups, and will go a long way in redefining the digital landscape, said economy watchers.
It maybe recalled that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had, on October 20 last year, found Google to have abused its dominant position in smart mobile devices operating system and issued 10 commandments to Google to comply within 10 months.
The original deadline for Google to comply with the CCI’s ruling — comprising penalty of ₹ 1337 crore and 10 non-monetary directions — was January 19 as the competition watchdog had given only ninety day window for compliance.
Even the extended compliance deadline by a week (January 26) may not be sufficient —if Google decides to comply—as the tech giant would have to rework its existing agreements (MADA and AFA) with thousands of original equipment manufacturers following the CCI directives, sources added.
Legal experts noted that the latest SC ruling in the Google appeal is the law of the land and the tech giant can have an option to file a review petition, which was unlikely as such window is available only for “apparent error of records”. Also review petitions are decided by circulation in chambers and normally oral hearing are not granted.
