New Delhi: Samsung has accused India's competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), of unlawfully detaining its employees and confiscating data during a raid linked to an ongoing antitrust investigation involving Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart. The dispute stems from an investigation in which the CCI concluded in August that Samsung, alongside other smartphone manufacturers, had violated antitrust laws by colluding with Amazon and Flipkart to exclusively launch products on their platforms.

In an October 11 legal filing, Samsung sought to have the findings against it dismissed, arguing that the CCI's actions, particularly during a raid at one of Amazon's vendors in 2022, were illegal. The company claimed that during the search, three of its employees were detained, their phones seized, and confidential data was copied without proper authorization.

Samsung's filing emphasized that the entire search operation was illegal and demanded the immediate return of the seized materials, asserting that any data collected should not be used in the investigation. The South Korean tech giant has also obtained an injunction from the High Court in Chandigarh, temporarily halting the CCI's proceedings, although the court has not yet ruled on the company's request for the return of the data.

The CCI has contested these injunctions, challenging them in the Supreme Court and arguing that the companies, including Samsung, are attempting to derail the investigation. The case revolves around accusations that Amazon and Flipkart manipulated their platforms to favor select sellers, a charge that both companies deny.

Samsung has further contested the CCI's findings, arguing that it was wrongly implicated in the collusion with Amazon and Flipkart. It asserts that it had only cooperated with the investigation as a third-party entity and did not engage in illegal practices.

The investigation could have wider implications for smartphone manufacturers like Samsung, as it brings scrutiny to the practice of exclusive product launches on e-commerce platforms. Samsung, which holds a significant share of the Indian smartphone market, has been named in the CCI's report, which criticized exclusivity deals as detrimental to fair competition.

The outcome of the case could influence the regulatory landscape for online retail and smartphone sales in India, as digital sales have surged, now accounting for a substantial portion of the market.