Karnataka HC to hear all competition cases against Flipkart, Amazon
06 Jan 2025

The Supreme Court of India has directed the Karnataka High Court to hear all competition-related cases against e-commerce companies Amazon and Flipkart.

The decision was taken by a bench of Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

They said if pleadings in some transferred petitions were not completed, the judge hearing the matter would give reasonable time for completion.

SC halts proceedings in other high courts
Case consolidation

The Supreme Court has stayed proceedings in other high courts, and directed the Karnataka High Court to expedite the case. The next hearing is on January 15.

The decision comes after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) asked that cases pending in various high courts be transferred either to the Supreme Court or Delhi High Court, fearing conflicting orders from parallel proceedings.

CCI's probe order and e-commerce giants' response
Legal battle

The CCI's probe order stemmed from a complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, an association of various smartphone and accessories traders.

In response, Amazon and Flipkart separately approached several high courts with petitions against the CCI's directive.

The Supreme Court has now ordered that any such petitions in other high courts will also be heard by the Karnataka High Court.

SC suggests case relocation for efficiency
Case management

The Supreme Court has recommended that the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court should move the single judge hearing the case, from Dharwad bench to principal bench in Bengaluru. This is for the sake of efficiency.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing one of e-retailers, said nearly half of petitions were already being heard by Karnataka high court and welcomed this move toward consolidated adjudication.

Allegations and challenges in CCI's anti-trust probe
Probe details

The anti-trust investigation was launched on the basis of complaints by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, accusing Amazon and Flipkart of violating the Competition Act, 2002.

The complaints included exclusive arrangements, deep discounting, and preferential listing practices that were considered potentially anti-competitive.

After an investigative report in January 2020 raised these concerns, both Amazon and Flipkart challenged the CCI's actions citing procedural violations.