The Supreme Court on Monday transferred all cases concerning the anti-competitive practices by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart, pending before various High Courts, to the Karnataka High Court.
The Bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order on a petition filed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), seeking to consolidate 24 writ petitions pending across different High Courts to prevent the multiplicity of proceedings and delays. The number of petitions later increased to 26.
The Apex Court observed that the subject matter involved in the writ petitions was the same as a petition being heard by a single-judge Bench of the Karnataka High Court. Any future petitions filed with the same subject matter will also be transferred to the Karnataka High Court, it added.
Appearing for certain respondents, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi submitted that his clients had no objection on transfer of matters to the Karnataka High Court.
Noting that the single-judge Bench was presently sitting at Dharwad, the Apex Court permitted the judge to sit at the Principal Bench for hearing the pending as well as transferred petitions.
The CCI moved the Apex Court seeking transfer of 24 writ petitions, pending before the High Courts of Delhi, Punjab & Haryana, Karnataka and Allahabad, among others, to a single High Court, preferably the Delhi High Court.
The petitioner contended that this would expedite the adjudication as well as minimise any scope of conflicting rulings on the issue.
On December 16, the Bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice Manmohan had indicated that it might transfer all cases concerning the anti-competitive practices by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart, pending before various High Courts, to the Karnataka High Court.
The top court of the country had issued notices returnable on January 6, and stayed proceedings in the petitions before the Karnataka High Court in the meantime.
The Delhi Vyapar Sangh had filed a petition before CCI alleging violations of the Competition Act, 2002 by Amazon and Flipkart relating to the sale and purchase of mobile phones.
The traders’ association alleged that the e-commerce companies indulged in exclusive arrangements, deep discounts and preferential listings to select sellers, in violation of the competition law.
The practice boosted the visibility of these sellers, who were close to these platforms, while disadvantaging others, it added.
In January 2020, CCI started investigations under Section 26(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 against Amazon and Flipkart.
The e-commerce companies moved the Karnataka High Court against the CCI probe. In June 2021, the single-judge Bench of Justice PS Dinesh Kumar dismissed their pleas on the grounds that halting the investigation at a preliminary stage would be unwise.
A Division Bench of the High Court later upheld this verdict, stating that if the companies were not involved in any violation of the law, they should not avoid the inquiry.
In August 2021, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the CCI’s preliminary investigation.
CCI concluded its investigation in August 2024, finding that Amazon and Flipkart had violated competition laws by favouring select sellers and launching exclusive online products.
Several sellers associated with Amazon and Flipkart had filed petitions in various High Courts, including Karnataka, Punjab & Haryana, Delhi, Madras, Allahabad, and Telangana, challenging different aspects of the CCI’s investigation.
Appearing for CCI on December 16, Attorney General R Venkataramani and Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman apprised the Apex Court that CCI had no objection to the cases being transferred to the Karnataka High Court.
The lawyers appearing for Amazon and other respondents, however, apprised the Apex Court that some of the parties have not been impleaded as respondents.
The Bench was further informed that two more petitions have been filed before the High Court pertaining to the same issue, taking the number of writ petitions to 26.
Noting that an order to transfer all the petitions to a single High Court could only be passed after hearing all parties, the top court of the country adjourned the matter to January 6.
It further permitted the petitioners to add all relevant parties in the case as respondents.
On December 13, the Bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal refused to transfer these petitions to the Delhi High Court or a Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court.
The Bench noted that CCI could not bypass the Karnataka High Court Rules, which mandated that such cases be heard first by a single-judge Bench.