Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday passed an interim order staying the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) investigation into Flipkart, over alleged malpractices including predatory pricing and preferred treatment to select sellers.
"Flipkart got a stay on the same lines as Amazon," said one person directly involved in the matter, requesting not to named.
The Walmart-owned e-commerce major had filed a separate petition in the Karnataka HC even though it earlier passed order on 14 February, where the court had granted an interim stay on the CCI probe into both Flipkart and Amazon, was applicable to the former as well.
Flipkart had made scathing allegations against the anti-trust regulator in its petition filed on 21 February.
"The bare perusal of the impugned order makes it evident that the CCI has proceeded on the basis of mere speculation and has failed to appreciate that such an order exposes responsible corporate entities like the petitioner to the rigours of an intrusive investigation prejudicially affecting not only its credibility and reputation but also its commercial prospects," Flipkart said in its petition.
Flipkart had also argued in the case, which its rival Amazon.com had filed earlier this month.
"It got tagged and the same interim order to be applicable to them (Flipkart) as well," said another person appearing in the case,requesting not to be named.
Like Amazon, Flipkart contested that the 14 January order by the CCI order has directed an investigation without making a determination of existence of essential jurisdiction and in a pre-determined manner by treating allegations of abuse of dominance as an ‘anti-competitive’ agreement."
A Flipkart spokesperson declined to comment.
