SC adjourns Amazon, Flipkart plea challenging Karnataka HC order on CCI probe

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned for August 9 the hearing of a plea filed by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart challenging an order of Karnataka High Court, which had allowed the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to continue its investigation against them into alleged competition law violations.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana adjourned the case for Monday on the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

At the outset, SG Mehta requested the Bench to adjourn the matter as there are very bulky files in the case.

To this, CJI said, "We know. We observed earlier that to terrorise judges file bulky case files. We have to engage lorries and trucks. They just don't want us to read the case."

The appeal is against the High Court order of allowing CCI to probe Amazon India and Walmart-owned e-commerce firm Flipkart for alleged competition law violations in smartphone sales on the two websites.

The High Court had also dismissed the pleas of e-commerce firms that sought to quash the CCI's probe. Challenging the order, they both approached the top court.

The order of the High Court had come on a complaint by Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, whose members comprise many traders dealing in smartphones and related accessories.

On January 13, 2020, fair trade regulator CCI ordered an investigation against Amazon and Flipkart for alleged malpractices, including deep discounting and tie-ups with preferred sellers on their platforms. Following the CCI order both the companies had moved to the High Court seeking quashing of the probe order.

The companies had denied any wrongdoing, but the High Court had said the e-commerce firms have no need to shy away from an inquiry if they were not involved in violations.

( With inputs from ANI )

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