Samsung has sued the Competition Commission of India (CCI), alleging unlawful detention of its employees and the illegal seizure of confidential data during a raid conducted as part of an antitrust investigation.
The probe primarily focuses on Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart, but it also implicates smartphone companies like Samsung, with accusations of anticompetitive conduct.
In its October 11 filing to the High Court in Chandigarh, Samsung demanded that the findings of the investigation be quashed, pointing to the unlawful nature of the CCI’s raid in 2022.
The company argues that the CCI’s officers detained three of its employees during the raid at one of Amazon’s vendors, seizing their phones and copying confidential materials.
Samsung maintains that the entire operation was illegal and that any material obtained should be disregarded and returned.
Samsung’s legal team has sought an injunction to prevent the CCI from using the seized data in the ongoing investigation. Although the High Court has granted a temporary halt on the proceedings, it has not yet ruled on whether the data should be returned to Samsung.
The investigation, which concluded in August, found that Samsung and other smartphone companies, in collaboration with Amazon and Flipkart, engaged in practices that allegedly violated India’s competition laws.
Specifically, the CCI claims that these companies were involved in launching exclusive products online through Amazon and Flipkart, potentially limiting competition in the market.
Samsung, however, strongly disputes these accusations, arguing that it had cooperated with the CCI as a third party and had not engaged in any illegal activity with the two e-commerce giants.
The investigation has put pressure on both Amazon and Flipkart, with accusations that the platforms favour certain sellers to the detriment of others.
However, the two companies have consistently denied any wrongdoing. Samsung’s inclusion in the investigation could present further complications for the company, especially as it is one of India’s leading smartphone brands, with an estimated market share of 14%.
The investigation’s focus on exclusivity arrangements questions about anti-competition in India’s e-commerce and smartphone sectors.
The CCI has previously spoken about such exclusive deals, noting that they repress fair competition and hinder consumer choice. Samsung’s position is that it should not be held accountable for market practices that it did not initiate and that were part of wider industry trends.
The CCI faces challenges from Samsung and several other companies who have obtained injunctions from various high courts, temporarily stopping the progress of the inquiry.
Last week, the CCI sought to have all these challenges consolidated and heard by the Supreme Court, asserting that the companies were attempting to obstruct the investigation.
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