Case No. 71 of 2015. Case: Applesoft Vs The Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka and Ors.. Competition Commision of India

Case NumberCase No. 71 of 2015
JudgesAshok Chawla, Chairperson, S.L. Bunker, Sudhir Mital, Augustine Peter, U.C. Nahta, M.S. Sahoo, Members and G.P. Mittal, J. (Member)
IssueCompetition Act, 2002 - Sections 19(1)(a), 26(2), 3, 4
Judgement DateOctober 21, 2015
CourtCompetition Commision of India

Order:

Order under Section 26(2) of the Competition Act, 2002

  1. This order will dispose of the information filed by M/s. Applesoft (hereinafter referred to as the 'Informant') under section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') against the Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka (hereinafter referred to as 'OP 1'), the Principal Secretary to the Government of Karnataka, E-governance (DPAR-AR) (hereinafter referred to as 'OP 2') and the Secretary, Kannada Ganaka Parishat (hereinafter referred to as 'OP 3') alleging, inter alia, contravention of the provisions of sections 3 and 4 of the Act in the matter.

  2. OP 1 is the Government of Karnataka. OP 2 has been added in the array of parties through the Principal Secretary to the Government of Karnataka, but no specific allegations have been mentioned in the Information against it. OP 3 is a non-profit organization registered as a society under the Registrar of Societies in the State of Karnataka. The Informant is a software developer for Indian languages and is aggrieved by the alleged instruction by OP 1 to all its departments and offices to use the language software developed by OP 3 only.

  3. Briefly, the Informant has highlighted that OP 1, following the trend implemented in other government departments all over India, has adopted the use of computers to discharge all its administrative functions. As the language of the State of Karnataka is Kannada, efforts are being taken by OP 1 to introduce 'Kannada Language' software to enable use of that language in the entire range of administration within the State.

  4. The Informant has submitted that considering the dynamic nature of the language software, both as a resource/tool in the area of publishing documents/statements etc. and for various applications for use in the processes of computing tools or inter-active tools/resources in diverse areas of administration and governance, it is necessary to take appropriate steps to avoid future incompatibility. It is stated that the incompatibility may have a severe impact on the easy exchange of files amongst innumerable users, including citizens, officials in various departments, agencies etc. who need or use such data for diverse reasons and purposes.

  5. As per the factual matrix of the case, OP 1 announced its decision to 'Standardize Standard Codes for Kannada Software' vide its order dated 01.11.2000. Accordingly, it sent letters dated 05.01.2001 to all...

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