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Nikon India was dragged to the Karnataka High Court by Flipkart for placing alert cautioning consumers about buying products from the Flipkart and Snapdeal, on its website.

Dated 16 June 2014, Nikon India's caution notice said: ‘e-commerce websites like Flipkart, Snapdeal are not our authorized partner/dealer’. The notice also asked customers to ‘check the warranty entitlements while buying from online portals’.

A person familiar with Flipkart's case explained that, “They have singled us out and they cannot make such statements." On 3 August, the case was filed, while the next hearing is scheduled on 21 August.

A spokesperson for the ecommerce company said in an email that, "Advisories discouraging customers to buy from online marketplaces like Snapdeal are unwarranted." The person added that even they are against the principles of free trade and commerce.

The Snapdeal spokesperson reacted by saying, Snapdeal products carry the same genuine and legitimate title and thus, are eligible for warranty same like any off-line purchases.

Earlier, companies like Toshiba and Lenovo issued advisories on their websites by stating that they have not authorized online markets to sell the products.

-Sumana