Google has taken its case to the Supreme Court after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld a penalty of ₹1,337.76 crore imposed on the tech giant by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The penalty was imposed due to Google's alleged anti-competitive conduct within the Android ecosystem. A Google spokesperson stated that the appeal was filed because the NCLAT did not apply the requirement to prove harm for anti-competitive behavior to several of the CCI's upheld directions, despite correctly acknowledging the need for such proof.

The NCLAT bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Dr. Alok Srivastava, Member (Technical), set aside four key directions issued by the CCI. These directions were mentioned in paragraphs 617.3, 617.7, 617.9, and 617.10 of the CCI order.

Paragraph 617.3 stated that Google must not deny access to its play services Application Programming Interface (APIs) to disadvantage Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), app developers, and its competitors. Paragraph 617.7 directed Google not to restrict users from uninstalling its pre-installed apps. Paragraph 617.9 required Google to allow app store developers to distribute their app stores through Google Play Store. Lastly, paragraph 617.10 stated that Google must not restrict app developers from distributing their apps through side-loading.

In its detailed order, the NCLAT found that the CCI's investigation into Google's conduct did not violate principles of natural justice. The order also stated that the pre-installation of Google Mobile Services (GMS) on Android phones amounted to unfair use.

The Tribunal held that "the Appellant by making pre-installation of GMS suite conditional to signing of AFA/ACC for all Android devices manufacturers, has reduced the ability and incentive of devices manufacturers to develop and sell self-device operating or alternative version of Android and Android Forks and thereby limited technical and scientific development, which is a breach of provisions of Section 4(2)(b)(ii) of the Act."

In addition to the financial penalty, the CCI directed Google to cease participating in anti-competitive practices and to modify its conduct within a specified timeline. The Commission issued a set of directions to aid Google in modifying its conduct. These directions included:

1. OEMs should not be compelled to pre-install a bundle of applications and should have the freedom to decide the placement of pre-installed apps on their smart devices.

2. The licensing of Play Store to OEMs should not be linked to the requirement of pre-installing Google search services, Chrome, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, or any other app.

3. Google should not provide any monetary or other incentives to OEMs to ensure exclusivity for its search services.

4. Google should not incentivize or obligate OEMs against selling smart devices based on Android forks.

5. Google should not restrict users from uninstalling its pre-installed apps.

6. During the initial device setup, users should be allowed to choose their default search engine for all search entry points, and they should have the flexibility to easily set and change default settings.

By appealing the NCLAT's decision, Google aims to challenge the upheld penalty and seek further judicial review of the case.