The Madras High Court has dismissed an application filed by Google India Pvt. Ltd. and Google India Digital Services Pvt. Ltd. to reject a civil suit brought by Testbook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd., an ed-tech company, which challenges the legality of Google’s new billing systems on the Play Store.
Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy ruled that Testbook’s complaint differs from the earlier batch of cases filed by other Indian startups that had been dismissed in 2023. While previous suits primarily focused on Google’s alleged abuse of its dominant market position, Testbook’s suit raised specific contractual issues regarding its bilateral agreements with Google, which the court found to be within its jurisdiction.
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“Such in personam disputes cannot be adjudicated by the CCI, which is statutorily empowered to examine whether an enterprise has abused its dominant position in the relevant market and not whether one party to a contract is in a dominant position vis-à-vis the counter party,” the Court observed. “The present suit is not barred by Section 61 of the Competition Act.”
Testbook had sought a declaration that Google’s Developer Distribution Agreement (DDA) and related billing terms—particularly clause 15.3—were illegal and unenforceable. It also requested a permanent injunction preventing Google from removing its apps from the Play Store due to its refusal to comply with the contested billing system.
Google, represented by senior advocates Mr. P.S. Raman and Mr. Sajan Poovayya, argued that the suit was substantially similar to earlier rejected claims made by other startups. They emphasized that the Supreme Court had not stayed the previous ruling that directed such issues fall under the jurisdiction of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), not civil courts.
However, Testbook’s counsel, Mr. Abir Roy and others, highlighted that their case included distinct arguments, including a claim of implied waiver. They argued that since Google had not charged a service fee for several years, it could not now enforce such charges. The company also contended that only a civil court could properly adjudicate claims of waiver and duress in contract law.
Referring to clauses in the DDA and evidence from the CCI’s October 2022 order, Testbook alleged that Google's sudden imposition of service fees—after years of not collecting them—amounted to a breach of contract and was unfair. They stated that this action caused financial duress, especially for smaller developers like themselves operating on tight margins.
The Court, while acknowledging that Testbook could have approached the CCI, clarified that this did not bar the civil suit. It emphasized that the nature of the plaintiff’s claims—centered on unfair contractual terms, waiver, and duress—fell squarely within the jurisdiction of a civil court.
“The plaintiff has only requested for relief in relation to the specific bilateral contract(s) between the parties to the suit,” the Court stated. “This Court cannot shut its eyes to the contractual pleas merely because they overlap in fact with allegations of market abuse.”
On the matter of whether the plaint disclosed a cause of action, the Court held that it clearly did. It dismissed Google’s argument that the claim was a copy of prior cases, noting that new legal points, particularly concerning waiver, had been raised.
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The application for rejection under Order VII Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code was therefore dismissed. The Court concluded that neither the Competition Act nor the Payment and Settlement Systems Act barred the suit.
Counsel for Google (Applicants): Mr. P.S. Raman, Mr. Sajan Poovayya, Mr. G. Balasubramanian, S. Anand (M/s Leela & Co.)
Counsel for Testbook (Respondent): Mr. Abir Roy, Mr. Devashish Marwah, Mr. Aman Shankar, Mr. Sastribata Panda, Ms. Ridhhima Sharma
Case Title: Google India Pvt. Ltd. & Another vs. Testbook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd. & Others
Case Number: A. No. 4193 of 2023 in C.S. (Comm Div) No. 186 of 2023
Date of Order: June 11, 2025
