Google files plea with HC against CCI probe
NEW DELHI: Google has filed a writ petition with the Karnataka High Court, asking the court for more time to respond to the allegations against the company.
The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), an industry body of 422 Indian startups, filed a petition before the CCI in October seeking interim relief from Google’s Play Store billing policy, which was set to go into effect from March 2022.
In turn, the CCI had asked Google to file its response by December 31, 2021. While Google hasn’t filed its response yet, the company extended the deadline for the policy to October 2022 earlier this month. Now, Google has filed a writ petition with the CCI asking for more time to file its response, arguing that the issue isn’t urgent at the moment.
“We have filed a writ in Karnataka High Court regarding the interim relief application in the Google Play probe by the CCI, seeking to move forward in line with established due process principles. We respect the CCI’s investigative process and will continue to engage cooperatively and constructively in the interest of a fair investigation,” the company said in a statement.
Google also asked for the inclusion of a judicial member in the CCI panel hearing the case, and for the identity of the complainants to be revealed. While the October petition came from the ADIF, the complaint itself has been filed by anonymous complaints.
Google argued that knowing the identity of the complainants will help understand their grievances and address their concerns.
The Play Store billing policy requires app developers to use its built-in payment modes for selling apps and services through the Play Store.
The policy was announced earlier this year and Google had given Indian startups time till March 2022 to comply with the same, after widespread criticism from Indian startups, including PayTM’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, RazorPay’s Harshil Mathur and Matrimony.com’s Murugavel Janakiraman.
“ADIF foresees that barring an order passed by CCI to maintain status quo until the completion of the ongoing inquiry, Google shall proceed to enforce its terms on the Play Store, thereby leading to adverse and irreversible consequences on India’s fledgling startup ecosystem,” said Sijo Kuruvilla George, executive director, ADIF in October.
He added that enforcing the policy will have a “destructive effect” on the operating margins of many startups in India.