Jan 31, 2024Alphabet Inc. and five of its associated companies in proceedings filed by 13 major app developers in the commercial jurisdiction of the Madras High Court
Madras High Court clarifies the appropriate forum to agitate disputes concerning payment systems, and non-compliance of CCI orders.
AZB & Partners successfully represented Alphabet Inc. and five of its associated companies in proceedings filed by 13 major app developers in the commercial jurisdiction of the Madras High Court. The developers, inter-alia, included Shaadi. com (Peoples Interactive Private Limited), Matrimony. com Ltd., Unacademy (Sorting Hat Technologies), Info Edge India Ltd. and other companies which own a bunch of dating and matrimonial apps.
On 19 January 2024, the Division Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed the 13 appeals filed by the app developers against the judgment of the Single Bench of Madras High Court which rejected the suits of the app developers as barred by law. Notably, the Division Bench’s judgment provides clarity on the correct forum to agitate violations of the PSS Act. In particular, the Division Bench affirmed that the RBI is the expert regulator for redressal of grievances relating to the PSS Act (and the guidelines issued thereunder), which implies that the jurisdiction of civil courts is barred. The Division Bench returned a similar finding in respect of the Competition Act being a complete code. It held that the plaints were liable to be rejected under Order VII Rule 11(a) and (d) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, given that the reliefs sought by the app developers involved subject matters within the realm of the authorities constituted under the PSS Act and the Competition Act.
Our AZB team comprised of our Senior Partner Vijayendra Pratap Singh, Counsel Sayobani Basu, Senior Associate Raghav Seth, Associates Ankitesh Ojha, Chetan Chawla, Shubhangni Jain, and Anant Narayan Misra.