Google has moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking a stay on an order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that has imposed a penalty of ₹1,337.76 crore on the US tech giant for business malpractices and using its dominant market position in certain markets.
According to two people familiar with the development, besides Google, smartphone makers Karbonn Mobiles and Micromax have filed separate petitions in response to certain directions in the CCI order that the companies claim may harm users indirectly through third-party software or apps that may not be as safe as Android.
The companies said in the event Google imposes additional costs for licensing, it would be passed on to users.
“We have decided to appeal the CCI’s decision on Android as we believe it presents a major setback for our Indian users and businesses who trust Android’s security features, and potentially raising the cost of mobile devices. Android has greatly benefitted Indian users, developers, and original equipment manufacturer (OEMs), and powered India’s digital transformation,” Google said in a statement on Friday.
Karbonn and Micromax executives were not immediately available for comment.
According to the order, phones that run on Android should not be forced to pre-install Google services. It had also asked Google to provide fair access to all stakeholders.
