Three online sellers operating on Walmart-owned Flipkart have filed lawsuits against India's competition watchdog, seeking to halt an investigation that found breaches of antitrust laws by major e-commerce platforms.

The sellers – CIGFIL Retail, Wishery Online, and Xonique Ventures – submitted petitions to the High Court of Karnataka to "set aside" the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) investigation report and suspend its proceedings, according to court documents seen by Reuters.

This legal challenge follows the CCI's August findings that Amazon, Flipkart, some of their sellers, and smartphone brands violated local competition laws by giving undue preference to select online sellers and prioritising certain listings.

The sellers argue that during the investigation, which began in 2020, they were asked to submit data to assist officials but were later named as accused parties, a move they claim violates due process.

"The alleged investigation ... is arbitrary, opaque, unfair," the sellers stated in their court filings, which are expected to be heard this week.

These lawsuits could potentially delay the antitrust investigation, which was initially triggered by complaints from brick-and-mortar retailers represented by the Confederation of All India Traders.

A former Amazon seller has also sued the CCI, obtaining an interim injunction to block the investigation from proceeding. The seller claimed the watchdog did not provide notice before naming it as an accused in the case.

Flipkart, one of India's largest ecommerce platforms, and its rival Amazon have consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The CCI's investigation has faced previous delays due to appeals by Flipkart and Amazon to overturn it. However, the watchdog ultimately proceeded with its inquiry, uncovering alleged violations including exclusive agreements between the e-commerce giants and smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi and Samsung.

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