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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Maharashtra civic polls: BJP takes lead in Pune bastion of Ajit and Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): The BJP has surged ahead of the NCP-NCP (SP) combine, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar, in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad corporations, according to trends and results of the civic elections so far on Friday.
The BJP has won 29 electoral wards and is leading in 43 others in Pune, as per the data shared by the election department of the civic body.
The Nationalist Congress Party and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) are a distant second, winning three and two seats, respectively, so far, in the 165-member Pune civic body. The trends show the NCP is leading in seven wards, and the NCP (SP) in one ward.
In the 128-member Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body, the BJP is leading in 81 seats, while the NCP is ahead in 36.
Despite being an ally of the BJP in the ruling Mahayuti, the NCP contested civic elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad in alliance with the NCP (SP), two years after the bitter break-up.
The Congress has won three seats and is leading in nine in PMC, as per the data.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which contested the polls in alliance with the Congress, yet to open its account, similar to Shiv Sena, headed by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, which contested the elections without allying with BJP.
The BJP had single-handedly held power in the previous five-year terms from 2017 to 2022 in Pune and PCMC civic bodies, after which the Administrator had control of the civic body.
The BJP is also leading in the Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, and Sangli civic bodies in the western Maharashtra region.
The poll campaign in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad was marked by sharp exchanges between Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and the BJP.
Ajit Pawar had targeted the local BJP leadership over the alleged irregularities in the functioning of the two civic bodies.
In the 102-member Solapur municipal corporation, the BJP is leading in 60 electoral wards, according to trends available till noon.
In the 81-member Kolhapur civic body, Mahayuti partners- the BJP, Shiv Sena, and the NCP- are leading in 25 seats, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi is ahead in 21 civic wards.
Elections to the 29 municipal corporations were held on January 15 after a gap of several years, with terms of most of them having ended between 2020 and 2023.
