Indian American Judge Picked to Preside Over Google Antitrust Case

Judge Amit P Mehta was the first Asia Pacific American appointed at the Court for the District of Columbia.

Amit P Mehta, an Indian American judge of the US district court, has been selected to preside of the US Justice Department’s landmark lawsuit against Google, reported IANS, referring to the case as “US government's most aggressive antitrust case in the tech sector in more than two decades.”

Judge Mehta’s Notable Cases

In the recent past, Donald Trump hit out at Mehta after the judge ruled that the US president couldn’t block a subpoena from a House committee, seeking financial records from Trump’s accounting firm.

Trump had referred to Mehta’s decision as “crazy”, slamming the “Obama appointed judge,” reported IANS.

Notably, Mehta has also been part of the defence team for IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a sexual assault case filed against him by Nafissatou Diallo, a hotel maid, reported IANS.

Soon after joining the District of Columbia bench in 2015, Mehta ruled against a deal merging the nation's two largest food distributors, Sysco Corp and US Foods.

According to IANS, legal reporter covering the case had talked about Mehta’s “grilling” of the US government, even though his verdict was in favour of what the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was trying to do.

More About the Judge

Mehta was born in India. He pursued his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and studied law at the University of Virginia.

Mehta became the first Asia Pacific American appointment at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on 22 December 2014.

(With inputs from IANS)