Samsung accuses India’s antitrust body of unlawful raids, detaining staff and seizing data

Samsung has accused India's Competition Commission (CCI) of unlawfully detaining its employees and seizing confidential data during a raid. This legal dispute is part of an antitrust investigation involving Amazon and Flipkart, where Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers are accused of violating competition laws.

In a court filing on October 11 with the High Court in Chandigarh, Samsung sought to dismiss the findings related to its conduct. The company claimed that during a 2022 raid at a vendor linked to Amazon, CCI officials detained three Samsung employees, confiscated their phones, and accessed confidential data. Samsung argues that this raid breached legal protocols, rendering the collected material inadmissible.

Samsung's filing stated that the entire search exercise was patently illegal and that any material collected should not be relied upon and should be returned promptly.

The High Court has granted Samsung an injunction to pause CCI proceedings but has not yet decided on returning the seized data or blocking its use. Samsung contends that it was cooperating as a third party in the investigation and was wrongly implicated in alleged collusion with Amazon and Flipkart.

The CCI has contested similar injunctions obtained by 22 other companies and requested India's Supreme Court to consolidate all such cases, accusing the firms of delaying the investigation.

The CCI's investigation concluded that Amazon and Flipkart favoured select sellers, violating competition laws. The report also criticised smartphone brands, including Samsung, for launching exclusive products on these platforms, stating that such practices harm free and fair competition.

Samsung disputes these findings, asserting that it only provided information to the CCI when requested. If upheld, the inclusion of smartphone manufacturers could complicate legal and compliance challenges for companies like Samsung.

Samsung is one of India's leading smartphone brands, holding a 14% market share, according to Counterpoint Research. The shift towards online phone sales, now accounting for 50% of total sales compared to 14.5% in 2013, has made exclusivity agreements more contentious in the Indian market.

With the Supreme Court now involved, the legal battle could determine the scope of the CCI's powers in conducting raids and collecting evidence. The case also highlights growing regulatory scrutiny over tech giants and their partnerships with manufacturers in India.

With inputs from Reuters