BENGALURU: E-commerce majors Flipkart and Amazon have appealed before a division bench of the Karnataka High Court to set aside the single-bench order of June 11, which allowed the Competition Commission of India to continue its probe into alleged anti-competitive practices by the e-tailers.
Flipkart and Amazon have filed their appeals separately.
In its appeal, Flipkart has sought the Confederation of All India traders (CAIT) and Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh be held responsible for contempt of court, abusing the process of law by providing incorrect information “based on ill motives” to CCI as well as the courts.
Terming the the CCI probe ‘erroneous’, Flipkart said the probe will cause irreparable damage to the company’s reputation/ loss of goodwill.
The fresh appeal comes after reports of India’s competition watchdog having expedited its probe into alleged preferential treatment of sellers, deep discounting and exclusive tie-ups with brands in violation of the country’s Competition Act.
The Walmart backed e-commerce firm accused CAIT of approaching the CCI with ‘unclean hands’ and said the watchdog as well as the single bench passed order “without application of the mind”.
The e-tailer said the traders’ body and its affiliate Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh did not provide conclusive evidence to the CCI on the basis of which the probe was ordered.
It added the watchdog simply initiated a probe into the allegations without taking into cognizance the veracity of these charges and the “ill motives” of these trader organizations.
Flipkart said the CCI did not penalise the CAIT and its subsidiaries of Rs 1 crore for providing unsubstantiated information to the regulator, and has only been giving empty threats before judicial authorities.
It also said that it cannot be held accountable for allegations like having exclusive arrangement with sellers because of common shareholders/ board directors or employees.