Amazon, Flipkart pleas against CCI probe order transferred to Karnataka HC

The Supreme Court on Monday transferred all cases filed by Amazon- and Flipkart-associated sellers against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices to the Karnataka High Court.

 

The bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan directed the Karnataka High Court to hear the case expeditiously after both parties agreed.

 

"It will be appropriate if all the petitions which are the subject matter of this transfer petition are transferred for hearing to the High Court of Karnataka," the bench said.

 

The court also stated that if similar petitions are instituted in any other high court, they shall also be covered by this order.

 

 

A single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court is likely to hear the case on January 15.

 

The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by the CCI, seeking the transfer of 24 writ petitions filed in various high courts challenging its probe into alleged anti-competitive practices to the top court.

 

The apex court had earlier directed the Attorney General for India (AGI), R Venkatramani, appearing for the CCI, to take instructions on whether the antitrust body agrees to transfer all cases to a single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court, where some of the cases are already pending.

 

It had stated that the CCI could not be given preferential treatment by transferring all petitions to be heard by a division bench instead of first being heard by a single judge as per the Karnataka High Court rules. Parties aggrieved by the single-judge decision can then appeal to the division bench, the court said.

 

During the hearing, the court asked why the matter should be brought to the Supreme Court instead of being consolidated in one high court.

 

AGI Venkatramani argued that the CCI's probe has been stalled for four years due to ongoing litigations. However, Justice Oka pointed out that in similar instances, the Supreme Court had previously transferred all cases on a single issue to one high court.

 

The AGI then proposed either transferring all matters to the Delhi High Court to be heard by a division bench or allowing the Karnataka High Court single judge to conclude the hearings soon. He stated that after the Karnataka High Court concludes hearing the matter, aggrieved parties could approach the Supreme Court.

 

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the respondents, objected to this, arguing that directly approaching the Supreme Court would bypass an intra-court appeal in the high court.

 

Background

The matter pertains to the CCI investigation of 2020 under the Competition Act, 2002, following a complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, a traders' association, alleging that Amazon and Flipkart gave preferential treatment to certain sellers closely linked to the platforms.

 

In June 2021, a single judge of the Karnataka High Court dismissed writ petitions filed by Amazon and Flipkart challenging the probe.

 

In August 2024, the CCI found that Amazon and Flipkart had violated competition laws by favouring select sellers and launching exclusive online products in collaboration with smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung and Vivo.

 

Amazon- and Flipkart-associated sellers have filed petitions in high courts across Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, Madras, Allahabad, and Telangana, challenging various aspects of the CCI's investigation.