The Apex Court rejected a plea filed by e-commerce major Amazon and Flipkart (companies) to stall enquiry by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for anti competition agreements, stating that, ‘as big e-commerce organizations, you should volunteer for anti-trust investigation but you are objecting’.
Facts:
Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh (“DVM”), an organization of retailers, submitted a plea with the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) against Flipkart and Amazon for giving preferential treatment to selective vendors mainly in the launch of their smartphones. Flipkart provides deep discounts to a select few preferred sellers on its platform which adversely impacts non-preferred sellers who can’t compete with such sellers.
The companies had appealed to the Apex Court after the Karnataka High Court confirmed the CCI decision of January last year to open a probe against them for allegedly entering into anti-competitive agreements in violation of the Competition Act of 2002.
Held:
The Apex Court rejected the plea filed by the companies by stating that CCI could have directed an inquiry-based upon complaint made by informants if a prima facie case was in existence. We see no reason to interfere with the orders passed by the High Court of Karnataka dismissing the writ appeals of the petitioners [Flipkart, Amazon]. Special leave petitions are dismissed.
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