KEY POINTS:

• For more than a month, the case was being heard by a two-member bench led by Justice (Ret.) Ashok Bhushan and Dr. Alok Srivastava.

• In its plea agreement, Google alleged that CCI had not carried out an "impartial, objective, and legally sound inquiry."

• Also, the CCI stated last week that the US-based internet giant has established a monopoly over digital data.

When it wrapped up the hearing that began last month, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) allegedly reserved a decision in Google's appeal against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) verdict.

The CCI found that Google had exploited its dominant position in the Android ecosystem and levied a fine of INR 1,337.76 Cr for anti-competitive behaviour, which the tech giant appealed to the NCLAT.

Senior attorneys Arun Kathpalia and Maninder Singh, who represented Google, presented their arguments before the NCLAT. The CCI, on the other side, was represented by standing counsel Samar Bhansal and assistant solicitor general N Venkataraman.

Also, the NCLAT Bench gave the intervenors, Epic Games, MapMyIndia, and OSlabs Technologies, permission to present their arguments.

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In its submission, Google said that the CCI had not carried out an "impartial, balanced, and legally sound inquiry" while neglecting the testimony of Indian consumers, app developers, and OEMs.

The internet giant also argued that the investigation's conclusions were "patently erroneous and overlook" the realities of India's competitive market, Google's pro-competitive business model and the advantages brought about for all stakeholders.

Google also stated during the hearing that the CCI ruling exhibits confirmation bias and is based on a directive issued by the European Commission (EC) in 2018.

The US-based computer giant has established a monopoly over digital data, the CCI stated last week. Additional Solicitor General Venkataraman stated the arguments in his closing remarks before the NCLAT on behalf of the competition watchdog.

Moreover, he described Google's strategy as being built on a "moat and castle," in which the tech giant utilised its search engine as the "castle" and had the other applications play the protective role of a moat.

In contrast to Google's "walled garden" strategy, ASG Venkataraman said that a market with greater openness for all participants would be better in line with the ideals of free competition.

In the Android devices case, the competition authority fined Google INR 1,337.7 Cr. last year. In another case involving its Play Store policy, the CCI also fined the tech giant Rs 936 Cr.

Google appealed the antitrust decision before the NCLAT in January after the ruling, but it was not immediately successful. The firm then appealed the Tribunal's ruling to the Supreme Court. Moreover, the top court rejected its argument and ordered the NCLAT to make a decision.