Court restrains Google from removing Bharat Matrimony app from Play Store

The Madras High Court has restrained Google from removing the Bharat Matrimony app from Play Store. 

 

This comes after Matrimony.com, the Chennai-based company which houses brand Bharat Matrimony challenged Google’s new in-app billing system in a legal suit. According to this system, a 15-30% fee is imposed on app developers, depending upon their annual revenue. 

 

The brand claims that this is in violation of applicable law which would cause hardship and loss to all the app developers. 

 

Matrimony.com and its brands did not comply with Google Play Store’s payment policy and approached the Madras High Court against the Google group of companies to protect its interest and sought interim reliefs.

 

The Madras HC in its interim injunction ruled that the brand not be delisted from Google’s Play Store until 1 June. 

 

Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO, Matrimony.com, said, it is a great relief and the fee structure proposed by Google is a death knell to Indian start-ups. Google is forcing app developers to agree to its payment policy of charging a service fee at the rate of 11% and 26% even with respect to the payments made by customers through its new users’ choice /alternate billing system without providing any services at all. Google is trying to circumvent the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order which directed Google not to restrict app developers from using third party billing or payment processing services, either for in-app purchases or for purchasing an app.  Google forcing App Developers to use alternative billing system or user choice billing along with its billing system and terming it as a new policy and charging App developers ridiculously high 11%/26% on the revenue is unconscionable and not acceptable. We will continue to fight legally until Google stops its monopoly behaviour of taxing Indian startups.”

 

Janakiraman also added that Google is trying to circumvent the CCI order, which directed the tech player not to restrict app developers from using third party billing or payment processing services, either for in-app purchases or for purchasing an app.