New Delhi/Bengaluru, March 1 -- On Friday, Google removed 10 popular Indian apps, including Bharat Matrimony, Shaadi.com, and Kuku FM, from its Play Store, and warned several others about possible actions for consistently failing to comply with its billing policies.

The move is expected to escalate the three-year legal tussle between Indian startups and the tech giant over the Play Store policies. Despite protests from startups about Google's sudden app suspensions, legal experts said the firm's policy stance could bolster their case in the upcoming Supreme Court hearing.

"Our apps were taken off the Play Store on Friday morning along with a notice and a blog post detailing Google's policy on Play Store payments. There were no prior int...