“[Three] “Top officials were detained for more than 30 hours overnight until the search and seizure operation was completed,” the May 30 statement said. The operation took place on April 28th and 29th. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register A senior source in the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which carried out the raid, denied the allegations, saying it had obtained the required legal approvals and complied with the guard’s regulatory procedures. The source was not authorized to speak to the media and declined to be named. Cloudtail’s testimony marks an escalating dispute between India’s increasingly powerful authorities and foreign e-commerce players who, along with their subsidiaries, dominate the country’s emerging online retail sector. For years, small traders – a key constituency for Prime Minister Narendra Modi – have argued that foreign giants favor select Internet sellers by violating Indian laws. The companies deny these allegations. This is not the only area, after all, where the Indian authorities have recently reached a public legal dispute with foreign companies. In early May, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi claimed in a statement that its top executives had faced threats of physical violence and coercion during an investigation into remittance payments by India’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Administration. The agency denied the allegations. read more
SEIZED DOCUMENTS
A first hearing on Cloudtail’s filing with the Delhi High Court on June 3 did not mention the bookings and the contents of the file have not been released. The judge has scheduled the next hearing for the case for July 15. In its latest lawsuit, Cloudtail also opposed the CCI’s raids on confiscation of confidential documents, including family photos and blood test results, and its lawyers were not allowed to enter the premises or assist staff during the raid. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Aditya Kalra and Abhirup Roy. Edited by Edmund Klamann Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
