CCI enlists attorney general R Venkataramani to clear path for Amazon, Flipkart antitrust probes

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has engaged attorney general R Venkataramani, the country’s highest-ranking law officer, to fight its case against various current and former online sellers of Amazon and Flipkart, including Cloudtail India Pvt Ltd, Appario Retail Pvt Ltd and Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd, two people informed about the development said.

These companies have filed writ petitions in various high courts, challenging the CCI’s antitrust probe against the two e-commerce giants, which was later expanded to include the sellers as well. CCI moved the Supreme Court last week, seeking to combine two dozen writ petitions filed in the high courts of Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana and Madras by current and former sellers on Amazon and Flipkart and transfer them to the apex court or the Delhi High Court to avoid conflicting judgements.

Also read | Mint Explainer: Why is the CCI worried about the impact of artificial intelligence on competition? One of the people cited above said, “The AG is likely to mention this case before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna so that it can be taken up early." Engaging the AG, a constitutional functionary, to represent CCI in the Supreme Court shows the significance of the case and the priority accorded to resolving it, this person added. Digital-economy firms increasingly find themselves in the regulatory spotlight, with the CCI taking note of their growing market presence and strong network effects.

CCI believes the slew of writs filed by the sellers are meant to restrict its investigative powers. The sellers, however, told the high courts that their status as ‘third parties’ when CCI started its probe into