Samsung challenges CCI search and seizure, seeks to halt anti-trust probe

Tech giant Samsung has challenged the legality of a 2022 CCI search and seizure, claiming the cloning of its employees' phones and data was illegal

Samsung has filed a lawsuit against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over a controversial 2022 search and seizure operation, calling the raid on an Amazon reseller’s premises illegal. The raid, which took place at Appario Retail, resulted in the CCI cloning the phones and data of three Samsung employees who were present during the operation. Samsung has now moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking to prevent the CCI from using any evidence gathered in its ongoing anti-trust probe involving e-commerce platforms, mobile manufacturers, and sellers, reported Moneycontrol.

 

The dispute is part of a larger legal battle between Samsung and the CCI, with the electronics giant aiming to halt the investigation into its dealings with e-commerce platforms. The High Court has temporarily stayed the probe, pending rulings on appeals filed by Samsung and other related parties across multiple high courts. Last week, the CCI moved the Supreme Court, seeking to consolidate 24 similar petitions filed by various stakeholders, including sellers on Amazon and Flipkart.

 

 

At the center of the case are the three Samsung employees — Navneet Singh Nagi, Niket Shah, and Harbir Singh Chhabra — whose phones were cloned during the raid. Samsung alleges that the data seized during the operation contains confidential company information, including pricing strategies, inventory details, and product launch plans. Sources also confirmed that this information is vital to the ongoing investigation into e-commerce practices.

 

“Samsung employees have found themselves caught in the crossfire. This case is distinct from why the CCI is targeting e-commerce companies. The interim order secured by Samsung suggests that the outcome might lean in the company’s favour,” a source close to the case was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.

 

In its court filing, Samsung argues that the entire search operation conducted by the CCI was ‘patently illegal’, and has demanded that any material collected during the raid be returned immediately. “The material collected should not be relied upon and should be promptly returned to the petitioner,” Samsung stated in a filing.

 

Further complicating the case, Samsung has raised concerns that the data seized during the raid may have been used to alter its position in the ongoing investigation. Initially, Samsung was called in as a third-party entity in the CCI’s probe into the practices of e-commerce platforms. However, following the raid, the CCI now seeks to implead Samsung as an ‘opposite party’ in the case, a move that could have significant implications for the company’s legal standing.