Online Sellers on Walmart’s Flipkart Sue India’s Antitrust Watchdog, Says Reuters

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI – Three online sellers on Walmart-owned Flipkart have initiated legal action against the Indian antitrust authority following an investigation that indicated they, alongside Flipkart and rival Amazon, may have violated competition laws, according to court documents reviewed.

The legal filings arise after antitrust investigations concluded in August, revealing that Amazon and Flipkart, along with certain sellers and smartphone brands, provided preferential treatment to selected online sellers and prioritized specific listings, as previously reported.

Flipkart is one of the largest ecommerce platforms in India and competes directly with Amazon.

To challenge the investigation, the three sellers have approached the High Court of Karnataka seeking to invalidate the investigation report and suspend the actions of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The lawsuits from the sellers could potentially postpone the ongoing investigation, which began in 2020 after complaints were raised by traditional retailers under the Confederation of All India Traders. Both Amazon and Flipkart have denied any wrongdoing.

The sellers—CIGFIL Retail, Wishery Online, and Xonique Ventures—claim in their lawsuits that they were initially called to provide data during the investigation, only to later find themselves named as accused parties, which they argue violates due process.

"The alleged investigation is arbitrary, opaque, and unfair," the sellers stated in their separate court filings, which are scheduled for a hearing likely next week.

At the time of this report, Flipkart and the CCI had not provided a response to inquiries. Efforts to reach the three sellers for comments were unsuccessful.

In a related development from last week, a former seller on Amazon also took legal action against the CCI, securing an interim injunction to halt the investigation on the grounds that they were not notified before being implicated in the case.