CCI probe: Supreme Court transfers Amazon, Flipkart pleas to Karnataka HC

The Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of petitions filed by Amazon and Flipkart to the Karnataka High Court. These petitions filed by the e-commerce platforms challenge a Competition Commission of India (CCI) probe into alleged malpractices. The directive came from a bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, which instructed the high court to allow reasonable time for completing pleadings in pending cases. Attorney General R Venkataramani has informed the apex court that five pleas related to the CCI probe had been filed in different high courts after the competition watchdog approached the Supreme Court.

What Supreme Court said about Amazon, Flipkart petitions

"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. If similar petitions are hereafter instituted in any other high court, the same shall be also covered by this order," the bench noted.

Earlier, the Supreme Court issued a notice on a plea by the CCI seeking to transfer petitions filed by Amazon and Flipkart from various high courts to either the apex court or the Delhi High Court.

The CCI’s plea sought the transfer of cases pending in the high courts of Allahabad, Madras, Telangana, Punjab & Haryana, Delhi, and Karnataka to streamline proceedings.

The regulator initiated a probe into the e-commerce giants over allegations of malpractices, including deep discounting and exclusive tie-ups with preferred sellers on their platforms.

The investigation followed a complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, representing traders of smartphones and related accessories. In response, Amazon and Flipkart filed separate petitions in multiple high courts, challenging the CCI's order.

The investigation poses a significant regulatory hurdle for Amazon and Flipkart in India, where e-commerce sales are projected to surge from $57-60 billion in 2023 to over $160 billion by 2028.

Since the probe began, nearly two dozen lawsuits have been filed across five Indian high courts by vendors associated with Amazon and Flipkart, as well as companies like Samsung and Vivo, aiming to "debilitate and scuttle" the investigation, according to the commission.