The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday intervened in the criminal proceedings against Anupam Mittal, the founder of matrimonial platform Shaadi.com, granting him and two others protection from coercive action for a period of eight weeks. The bench, comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria, set aside a previous order from the Telangana High Court and remanded the matter back for a fresh hearing on its merits.
The primary legal issue concerned whether the founder and executives of an intermediary matrimonial platform could be held criminally liable for alleged fraud committed by a user of the service. The Telangana High Court had earlier refused to quash the First Information Report (FIR) against the petitioners. The Supreme Court has now restored the quashing petitions to the High Court’s file, directing a reconsideration of the merits while ensuring the petitioners are not arrested in the interim.
The controversy originated from a criminal complaint filed by a woman in Hyderabad. The complainant alleged that she was defrauded of ₹11 lakh by a man she met through a profile on Shaadi.com. She contended that the man used a fake profile and that the platform failed in its duty to properly verify user credentials, leading to the financial loss.
Following the complaint, an FIR was registered naming Anupam Mittal and two other officials—Vignesh and Satish—as accused. The Telangana High Court had last year declined to quash the proceedings, prompting the petitioners to approach the apex court. On June 26, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the Telangana government and stayed all proceedings in the matter.
Senior Advocate Atmaram Nadkarni, representing Mittal, argued that the platform acts merely as an intermediary or a “matchmaker.” He emphasized that the service facilitates introductions between users and cannot be held responsible for the criminal actions of independent third parties.
“I am just facilitating matching. We are cooperating with the investigation. But why am I an accused?” Nadkarni submitted before the bench, highlighting the lack of direct involvement by the platform’s leadership in the alleged fraud.
The Supreme Court observed that the High Court’s earlier refusal to quash the FIR did not sufficiently address the merits of the petitioners’ legal arguments regarding their liability as intermediaries.
The bench stated:
“Since the quashing petition has not been decided on merits, we set aside the impugned order and remit the matter to the High Court to consideration on merits. Accordingly, the criminal cases are restored to their original file. The same shall be dealt with by the High Court on its merits. This court has not expressed any opinion on merits.”
Regarding the immediate safety of the petitioners, the court directed Mittal to seek interim relief from the High Court while providing a temporary shield.
“In the meanwhile, petitioner shall make a prayer for interim relief before the High Court. For a period of eight weeks from today, no coercive steps to be taken against the petitioner,” the bench added.
The Supreme Court concluded by setting aside the Telangana High Court’s order and remitting the case back for a fresh decision. The High Court is now required to determine whether the criminal proceedings against the Shaadi.com executives should be quashed based on the merits of the arguments presented. The eight-week stay on “coercive steps” provides the petitioners time to move the High Court for interim bail and further relief.
