Alphabet Inc. and Google Inc. requested edits to certain paragraphs of the court ruling, citing the need to protect sensitive financial data.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has ordered the redaction of confidential revenue data from its recent ruling in the Google Play Store case. While it upheld the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) findings of unfair business practices by Google, it substantially reduced the penalty imposed.
The NCLAT has instructed that certain excerpts from a confidential letter containing Google’s revenue details be removed from its March ruling against the tech giant over its Play Store billing policy.
On March 28, the tribunal upheld the CCI’s ruling that Google’s app store billing practices were restrictive and unfair to developers. However, it reduced the fine from ₹936.44 crore to ₹216.69 crore—approximately one-quarter of the original amount.
Alphabet Inc and Google Inc had requested the redaction of paragraphs 97 to 100 of the 104-page judgment, citing the inclusion of a confidential letter dated October 6, 2022, containing sensitive financial data. Even the CCI had maintained the confidentiality of this information.
Despite this, the NCLAT ruling had quoted portions of the document. In response, Alphabet and Google petitioned the tribunal to maintain confidentiality and to remove the identified paragraphs from both the public version and certified copies of the ruling.
The tribunal bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Member Barun Mitra, accepted the request.
“We find merit in the applicant’s submission. Paragraphs 97 to 100 of the judgment quote portions of the confidential letter dated 6 October 2022. To uphold confidentiality, we allow the prayers in the application,”
the NCLAT stated.
Accordingly, the tribunal ordered that the specified paragraphs be redacted and that only the revised version of the judgment be shared henceforth. It also directed that the redacted version be uploaded on the official website.
In its March 28 decision, the NCLAT had found Google guilty of abusing its dominant market position, noting violations under specific sections of competition law. While certain charges were not proven, the tribunal still deemed a penalty appropriate based on established violations.
“The penalty imposed on Google is modified as per the calculation provided in paragraph 105 of this order. Consequently, the penalty is reduced from ₹936.44 crore to ₹216.69 crore (USD 29,889,312.39),” the ruling stated.
Since Google had already deposited 10% of the penalty during the appeal process, the remaining amount must be paid within 30 days, as per the tribunal’s directive.
The original CCI order, issued on October 25, 2022, fined Google ₹936.44 crore for abusing its dominant position in relation to its Play Store policies.
Source: CNBC-TV18
