CCI probe order on Amazon, Flipkart: SC transfers all pending cases to Karnataka HC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday transferred to Karnataka High Court petitions of Amazon and Flipkart, challenging a Competition Commission of India order for a probe into the e-commerce giants for alleged malpractices.
A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said if pleadings in some of the transferred petitions were not completed, the judge seized of the matter would grant reasonable time to complete the pleadings.
"It will be appropriate if all the petitions which are the subject matter of this transfer petition are transferred for hearing to the High Court of Karnataka," the bench said.
During the hearing, Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the apex court that, after filing of the present petition by fair trade regulator the Competition Commission of India (CCI), five pleas had been filed in different high courts.
The top court directed that these petitions be transferred to the High Court of Karnataka.
"If similar petitions are hereafter instituted in any other high court, the same shall be also covered by this order," the bench said.
The apex court had earlier issued a notice on the plea filed by the CCI, which sought the transfer of the petitions filed by the e-commerce giants from the high courts to the top court or Delhi High Court.
In its plea before the top court, the CCI sought directions to transfer either to the Supreme Court or Delhi High Court the cases pending before the high courts of Allahabad, Madras, Telangana, Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, and Karnataka.
The fair trade regulator ordered the probe into Flipkart and Amazon following allegations of malpractices, including deep discounting and tie-ups with preferred sellers on their platforms.
The CCI's probe order came after a complaint by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasang, whose members comprise many traders of smartphones and related accessories.
Amazon and Flipkart filed separate petitions in various high courts, challenging the CCI's probe order.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
