SC orders to transfer Amazon, Flipkart petitions on CCI probe to K'taka HC

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

 

With this, the apex court stayed the ongoing proceedings before the Karnataka High Court, which was scheduled to hear the cases on Tuesday.

 

"Issue notice. Prima facie, we are of the view that all cases, which are pending in various high courts, should be transferred to Karnataka High Court for hearing," the Supreme Court said.

 

However, a final order in the case was not passed, and the matter will now be heard on January 6, 2025.

 

Refusing to transfer writ petitions filed in various high courts by Amazon- and Flipkart-associated sellers to itself, the Supreme Court on Friday said the antitrust body “cannot be given special treatment”.

 

The top court instead suggested consolidating all cases with the single judge of the Karnataka High Court, who is already hearing some of these matters.

 

“Only because some litigant is to be given special treatment, bypass the rules, we can't place it directly before the division bench,” the Supreme Court said.

 

The apex court was hearing the 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.

 

A bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal directed 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 cases are already pending.

 

Justice Oka said 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, he said.

 

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

 

AGI Venkatramani said the CCI's probe had 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 added that once the Karnataka High Court finishes hearing the matter, the 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 relates to the CCI investigation launched in 2020 under the Competition Act, 2002, following a complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, a traders' association. The association alleged that Amazon and Flipkart gave preferential treatment to certain sellers closely linked to their 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 the Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, Madras, Allahabad, and Telangana high courts challenging various aspects of the CCI's investigation.