Flipkart gets interim stay on CCI probe

Walmart-owned ecommerce giant Flipkart was awarded interim relief by the Karnataka High Court on Thursday, after the deciding bench stayed the investigation ordered by Competition Commission of India (CCI) on the etailer, according to a person directly familiar with the matter.

The document has not been formally issued by the court yet, the person added.

A Flipkart spokeswoman did not respond to TechCircle’s request for comment on the matter.

The development was first reported by Mint.

Early January, CCI had ordered an investigation against Amazon and Flipkart. It had followed an alleged violation of certain foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines by the two e-commerce rivals. The allegation was made by Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh (DVM), a trade body.

DVM had also alleged that the companies had indulged in predatory pricing and deep discounting, and violated competition laws.

Earlier this month, Amazon had filed a writ petition with the Karnataka High Court, citing that the findings of investigation order “...are perverse, arbitrary and untenable in law.”

Following the hearing, the court had issued an interim stay of the investigation. Flipkart filed a separate writ petition to move the state’s High Court on the CCI probe.

“We are a party to the CCI order and a respondent in Amazon’s writ against the order. Given this position and the High Court Stay, as a procedural matter, we are also filing a writ,” the Flipkart spokesperson had told TechCircle then.

Separately, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) dismissed an order of corporate insolvency proceedings against Flipkart Internet Services which owns and operates the e-commerce marketplace.