Delhi HC dismisses appeals of WhatsApp, Facebook against CCI probe
New Delhi, Aug 25: The Delhi High Court dismissed the appeals of WhatsApp and Facebook on Thursday against an order rejecting their challenge to a probe ordered by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into the instant messaging platform's updated privacy policy of 2021.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said the single judge's order was well-reasoned and the appeals are devoid of merits.
In April last year, a single judge of the high court had refused to interdict the investigation directed by the CCI on the petitions moved by WhatsApp LLC and Facebook Inc. -- now Meta platforms.
In January last year, the CCI on its own had decided to look into WhatsApp's updated privacy policy based on news reports regarding the same.
WhatsApp had argued before the division bench of the court that the CCI cannot probe a policy that has now been kept in abeyance to await the fate of the Data Protection Bill as well as the decision of the Supreme Court and the high court on issues concerning the legality of the policy.
Facebook had argued that there was no prima facie material in the case against it and the CCI cannot investigate it in a "creeping fashion".
The CCI, however, had contended that its investigation into the new privacy policy should be allowed to proceed as the policy has not been withdrawn and there is no scope for the inquiry to overlap with the Supreme Court proceedings, which pertain to issues of alleged infringement of user privacy.
The anti-trust regulator had said its probe concerned WhatsApp's anti-competitive sharing of user data with Facebook and not issues concerning the privacy law and that a judicial process cannot be used to thwart the investigation.
It had also defended the probe against Facebook as well as in connection with WhatsApp's privacy policy, saying the former is the holding company of the messaging platform and can "potentially exploit the data being shared".
Before the single judge, WhatsApp and Facebook had challenged the CCI's March 2021 order directing a probe against them.
Dismissing the petitions, the single judge had opined that although it would have been "prudent" for the CCI to await the outcome of the petitions in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court against WhatsApp's new privacy policy, not doing so would not make the regulator's order "perverse" or "wanting of jurisdiction".
On January 3, while dealing with the appeals against the single-judge order, a bench headed by then Chief Justice DN Patel had extended the time for filing replies by Facebook and WhatsApp to two CCI notices of June 2021, asking them to furnish certain information for the purpose of the inquiry conducted by it.
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No need for guv: DMK leader Kanimozhi
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday reiterated her party’s opposition to the office of the governor amid uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu after a fractured election mandate.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Kanimozhi emphasised that the DMK’s demand for the abolition of the governor’s post remained unchanged, especially as questions arise over constitutional propriety during the current political transition.
"Our position that we do not need a governor at all is something the DMK has never changed at any point in time," she said.
When asked about the governor’s actions following the election results—particularly the delay in inviting the leading party to form the government—Kanimozhi pointed to what she described as the "inherent friction" between the office of the governor and the political interests of the state.
She said the current situation "raises a lot of questions" and requires introspection regarding constitutional procedures.
Kanimozhi described the election results as lacking a "clear mandate", which she identified as the primary reason for the prevailing political uncertainty in the state.
"What the people decide is supreme," she said, adding that while the mandate was not decisive, it must be respected.
The Thoothukudi MP attributed the ongoing delays and "many confusions" to the absence of a decisive majority for any single party.
She firmly dismissed rumours about the DMK potentially supporting the AIADMK from outside to help stabilise the government.
She described such reports as mere "speculation" and "rumours".
"We can’t be responding to every rumour," she said, declining to comment on the AIADMK’s claims regarding its numbers to form the government.
The political situation in Tamil Nadu remains fluid as stakeholders await the governor’s next constitutional step in an Assembly where no party has secured a clear majority.
The DMK and AIADMK—both of which suffered significant losses to the TVK—are reportedly exploring tactical manoeuvres to navigate the hung Assembly.
The TVK, with 108 seats and the support of Congress’s five MLAs, is still short of the majority mark. The DMK and AIADMK secured 59 and 47 seats, respectively.
