The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) today stayed an order of the Competition Commission that imposed a penalty of Rs 136 crore on Google for unfair business practices in online search market.
While admitting the plea of Google against the order, the NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya directed the internet major to deposit 10 per cent of the penalty amount with it in four weeks.
The NCLAT listed the matter for hearing on May 28.
A Google spokesperson said: "NCLAT has accepted our appeal for review of aspects of the CCI decision and its associated findings."
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in February this year had imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on search engine major Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search.
In a January cover story on Google's 'dominance', Outlook had said a CCI order in the matter involving Google was expected.
In August 2015, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the Competition Commission had directed an investigation into four separate cases involving alleged abuse of market dominance by Google. The first, filed in 2012, involved M/s Consim Info (which owns Bharat Matrimony) and consumer group CUTS. Accusations similar to the Foundem case were levelled, with the parties alleging that “Google runs its core business of online search and search advertising in a discriminatory manner, causing harm to advertisers and indirectly to consumers”. Google was “creating an uneven playing field by favouring its own services and of its vertical partners by manipulating the search algorithms,” the complaint said.
Pradeep Mehta, secretary general of CUTS, who admires Google for the “fantastic” services it provides, had earlier told Outlook the investigation took time and Google delayed matters too—in March 2014, the Competition Commission penalised it to the tune of Rs 1 crore for not cooperating in the investigations.
Passing the order on complaints that were filed back in 2012, the regulator said the penalty is being imposed on Google for “infringing anti-trust conduct.
The penalty amount of Rs 135.86 crore translates to 5 per cent of the company's average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015, according to the CCI order.
The ruling has come on complaints filed by Matrimony.Com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) -- back in 2012 -- against Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd and Google Ireland Ltd.
(Inputs from PTI)
