The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in June accused
Amazon of concealing facts and making false submissions when it sought approval
for the $200 million investment into a Future unit in 2019, a deal that is now
at the heart of protracted legal disputes between the two sides.
Amazon told Reuters at the time that it was confident of
addressing the watchdog's concerns.
The Supreme Court approach by Amazon comes as the CCI on
Wednesday held a closed-door hearing where the US firm's lawyers declined to
argue and explain their position on the matter, saying they had asked the top court
to pause the process.
The watchdog noted in an internal document - seen by Reuters
- that it had decided to give no extensions to the company to explain its
position and will now issue an order in due course.
Amazon and the CCI did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
The CCI decision is critical to Amazon's legal challenges.
If the CCI rules against Amazon and revokes the 2019 approval, it could have
wide-ranging ramifications on the US firm's ongoing legal battle with Future,
people familiar with the case say.
That's because Amazon has so far successfully used the 2019
Future unit deal to argue breach of certain contracts when the Indian company
announced plans to sell its retail assets to rival Reliance Industries for $3.4
billion last year.
Future, which denies any wrongdoing, accuses Amazon of
illegally interfering in its business decisions and derailing a potential deal
without which it says it will face liquidation. © Reuters
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