Karnataka HC quashes Amazon, Flipkart plea against antitrust probe

The Karnataka High Court on Friday upheld a single-judge order dismissing the pleas filed by Amazon and Flipkart. The e-commerce firm had challenged a probe initiated by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for alleged competition law violations.

A division bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Natraj Rangaswamy passed the order in a batch of appeals moved by the e-commerce firms against a June 11 order of a Single Judge of the High Court.

While dismissing the plea, the Bench held, “By no stretch of imagination can inquiry be quashed at this stage...Appellants should not be afraid of investigation of CCI...In the considered opinion of the Court, appeals filed by appellants are devoid of merit and deserved to be dismissed…,” according to law platform Bar & Bench. The matter was reserved for judgement on June 25.