The Supreme Court on Monday transferred the petitions of Amazon and Flipkart to the Karnataka High Court. These petitions challenge the order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) regarding an investigation into the two e-commerce giants for alleged unethical practices. A bench consisting of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan stated that if the pleadings in any of the transferred petitions have not been completed, the presiding judge will be permitted to grant sufficient time for their completion.
“It is advisable that all petitions concerning this transfer matter are forwarded for adjudication to the High Court of Karnataka,” the bench remarked.
During the proceedings, Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the Supreme Court that following the filing of the current petition by the fair trade regulator, the CCI, five additional pleas had been lodged in various high courts. The Supreme Court subsequently ordered that these petitions also be transferred to the High Court of Karnataka.
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“Should similar petitions be filed in any other high court in the future, they will also be included under this order,” the bench added. Previously, the apex court had issued a notice regarding the plea filed by the CCI, which requested the transfer of the petitions from the e-commerce companies from the high courts to either the Supreme Court or the Delhi High Court.
In its application to the Supreme Court, the CCI sought directives to transfer cases pending in the high courts of Allahabad, Madras, Telangana, Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, and Karnataka to either the Supreme Court or the Delhi High Court. The fair trade regulator initiated the investigation into Flipkart and Amazon due to allegations of unethical practices, such as significant discounting and collaboration with select sellers on their platforms.
The CCI’s investigation directive followed a complaint from the Delhi Vyapar Mahasang, an organisation comprising numerous traders dealing in smartphones and related accessories. In response, Amazon and Flipkart initiated separate petitions in various high courts contesting the CCI’s investigation order.