Madras High Court temporarily restrains Google from delisting Matrimony.com app from Play Store in dispute over new billing system

The Madras High Court recently temporarily restrained Google from removing or delisting the mobile app of online matchmaking company Matrimony.com from the Google Play Store owing to the dispute over the tech company's new in-app billing system. .In an order passed on April 24, Justice S Sounthar granted an interim injunction in favour of Matrimony.com and directed Google not to remove its app from the Playstore till June 1, the next date of hearing..Matrimony had approached the Court claiming that its mobile app for android devices was at risk of being removed from the Playstore since it had refused to accept Google's new billing system. Earlier, Google required all app developers to use its Google Play Billing System (GPBS) for all transactions, including paid app downloads and in-app purchases. App developers were charged a commission between 15 to 30 percent for the services that Google offered. Google’s new billing system however, allows users to opt for "an alternative billing" option besides GPBS. It allows app developers to use third party billing systems, but imposes a service fee of 11 to 26 percent. It is this fee that Matrimony and several other app developers have been opposing..The counsel for Matrimony.com told the High Court that when customers made payment by using the Alternative Billing System, the levy of service fee by Google at the rate of 11 percent or 26 per cent, depending on the size of revenue generated by app developers in a year. This, it was argued, was "on the face of it, unconscionable." The Court noted that if Matrimony’s apps were delisted from Google Playstore for their failure to toe the line on Google's new payment policy, Matrimony would be put to irreparable loss and hardship. "Therefore, the balance of convenience is also in favour of the applicant for grant of an order of injunction against delisting, till the respondents are heard," the High Court said. .Several companies, including startups have been opposing Google's new billing system. On Monday, the Delhi High Court had directed the Competition Commission of India to hear a plea filed by Alliance of Digital India Foundation an industry body of start-ups, urgently against Google’s user choice billing system. Google in turn, filed an appeal before a division bench of the Delhi High Court challenging the single judge's order. .Senior Advocates Sriram Panchu and Srinath Sridevan, along with Advocates R Venkat Raman, Anirudh B Menon, SK Harinarayanan and Sachin Menon of Tatva Legal appeared for Matrimony.com..[Read Order]