The Karnataka High Court has directed the Department of Posts to immediately resume services to Vihaan Direct Selling (India) Private Ltd, the Indian sub-franchisee of QNET, bringing an end to an 18-month suspension that had disrupted product deliveries nationwide.
In February 2024, India Post suspended its services to Vihaan, citing a 2019 advisory from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs that flagged ongoing criminal cases against the company. The suspension severely affected Vihaan’s ability to deliver products to customers across India.
Delivering its final order, the High Court clarified that ongoing investigations cannot be equated with proof of illegality.
“There is neither a concluded enquiry nor a conclusive finding by any court that declares the activities of Vihaan as prohibited. Pending proceedings cannot be presumptively construed as proof of illegality,” the bench observed.
The court also cautioned that official communications hinting at wrongdoing before judicial findings could prejudice ongoing cases and cause undue harm to a company’s reputation.
The High Court directed the Department of Posts to process Vihaan’s pending application and restore its services within two weeks, effectively lifting the suspension.
In its submissions, Vihaan alleged that the Financial Frauds Victims Welfare Association (FFVWA) and its member Gurupreet Singh Anand influenced the postal department’s decision, accusing them of running a “campaign of blackmail and misinformation.”
The company further stressed that the Karnataka High Court had previously ruled in 2017 that its business model did not violate the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act.
