Did Google abuse its dominant position in the search engine space? Give CCI some more time to draw a final conclusion

Competition Commission of India (CCI) needs some more time to decided whether Internet major Google abused its dominant position in the search engine space in the country for well over three years.

The fair trade regulator said on Wednesday that it would take "quite some time" before arriving at a final decision on the case related to Google's alleged anti-competitive practices.

CCI’s investigative arm has submitted its report on the matter.

Responding to a question regarding the status of the Google case and speculations surrounding it, CCI chairman Ashok Chawla said: "It is going to take quite some time before there is any finality on the matter."

"There is always speculation in high-profile cases. The short point is it (the case) has to go through the process as prescribed in the Competition Act... The parties (concerned) have to be heard and then the commission will come to a decision," Chawla said.

The investigation report has been sent out to parties on both sides and their comments are awaited. The regulator refers cases to its investigative arm's Director General (DG) for a detailed probe.

The DG report is believed to contain comments and inputs from a host of entities present in the Internet business, including some well-known e-Commerce firms and web portals.

While submissions from some of them appear to suggest violations on part of Google, others have sided with the US-based global giant.

"We are currently reviewing this report from the CCI's ongoing investigation. We continue to work closely with CCI and remain confident that we comply fully with India's competition laws," a Google spokesperson had said earlier.

CCI received a complaint against Google back in 2011 for the first time.

(Image: Indiatimes)