What’s the news: Google seems to be on a “legal” losing streak as the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) rejects yet another interim relief appeal from the tech giant. This time too Google’s grouse is against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for levying a ₹936.44 crore penalty “for abusing its dominant position” in terms of Play Store policies, reported Live Mint. On January 11, 2023, a Bench comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar and Alok Srivastava issued notices to the CCI and other respondents. It directed Google to deposit 10 percent of the fine before its registry in the next four weeks, as per the report. The matter will next be heard on April 17, 2023. This is now the second time this month that NCLAT has refused to stay a CCI order against Google, with the earlier one involving a penalty of ₹1,337.76 crore for anti-competitive practices in relation to Android mobile devices. What was the problematic policy? In October last year, Google was fined over ₹2,200 crore in two CCI rulings less than a week apart. On October 25,2022, Google received the first penalty of ₹936.44 crore for forcing software developers to use its in-app billing system. The CCI directed Google “to cease and desist” from unfair business practices and address the anti-competitive issues within a defined timeline. On November 1, 2022, Google put up an update on its help centre page stating, “Following the CCI's recent ruling, we are pausing enforcement of the requirement for developers to…
