Big win for Amazon over rival Reliance in India top court battle

India’s Supreme Court blocks $3.4bn deal struck by Reliance as battle to dominate country’s retail sector intensifies.

US e-commerce giant Amazon has won a major legal victory in India as the country’s top court blocks a $3.4bn deal struck by domestic rival Reliance. Amazon, Walmart-backed Flipkart and Reliance, owned by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, are locked in a titanic battle to dominate online retail in the country of 1.3 billion people. Reliance struck a deal last year to buy assets belonging to Future Retail, India’s second-largest supermarket chain, owned by Future Group.