India issues final notice to Apple, signals move to press ahead with antitrust case
New Delhi: India’s competition regulator has issued a final warning to Apple, signalling that it will proceed with an antitrust case against the US technology company after Apple delayed its responses for over a year and attempted to stall the proceedings, according to a confidential order reported by The Hindu.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), in an order dated December 31, rejected Apple’s request to pause the case while a related dispute concerning penalty rules is pending before the Delhi High Court. The regulator stated that Apple’s conduct had undermined procedural discipline and delayed the conclusion of the investigation.
The antitrust case arises from a probe that found Apple had abused its dominant position in the iOS app store market. Apple has denied the allegations and has separately challenged India’s penalty framework before the High Court, arguing that calculating fines based on its global turnover could expose it to penalties of up to $38 billion. That legal challenge remains pending.
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Despite the ongoing court proceedings, the CCI noted that it had asked Apple in October 2024 to submit objections to the investigation’s findings and provide financial information typically required to determine penalties. The regulator said Apple was granted multiple extensions but failed to comply.
In its order, the CCI said that repeated extensions, despite clear directions, had hindered the timely completion of the case and could not continue indefinitely. It warned that the commission would proceed with the matter on its own if Apple does not submit the required response by next week.
Apple did not respond to queries from Reuters on the matter. A source familiar with the development told Reuters that the company views the CCI’s latest order as an attempt to move ahead of the High Court proceedings and is unlikely to respond before the court hears the case again on January 27.
Since 2022, several Indian startups, along with Match Group, the owner of Tinder, have raised concerns over Apple’s App Store policies. In 2024, investigators concluded that the company had engaged in abusive practices within the iOS app ecosystem.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
