Today, on 3rd February, the Supreme Court asked the Telangana High Court to reconsider Anupam Mittal’s plea seeking quashing of a criminal case over alleged failure by Shaadi.com to verify user details. The Bench said the earlier order ignored the merits of arguments.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court directed the Telangana High Court to re-evaluate a plea from Anupam Mittal, the founder of Shaadi.com, seeking to dismiss a criminal case against him. This case stems from allegations that the matrimonial platform failed to verify the information of a user who reportedly defrauded a woman.
A Bench consisting of Justice PK Mishra and Justice NV Anjaria issued the order after observing that the High Court’s previous ruling denying Mittal relief did not address the merits of his arguments.
The Telangana High Court had merely noted that, since the charges involved offenses punishable by less than seven years of imprisonment, the investigation into Mittal could proceed.
The Supreme Court has now instructed the High Court to reconsider the matter by examining the validity of Mittal’s claims regarding whether the criminal case against him can be sustained based on the allegations.
The Supreme Court 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 for 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 the merits,”
Additionally, the Court granted interim protection to Mittal, ordering that no coercive action be taken against him for the next eight weeks.
The criminal case against the Shaadi.com founder involves accusations that the platform did not adequately verify a user’s identity, which allegedly allowed that user to defraud a woman of over Rs 10 lakh.
During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Atmaram Nadkarni, representing Mittal, argued that the company was being wrongfully implicated in a case of cheating. He asserted that Shaadi.com operates solely as an intermediary.
Nadkarni argued,
“We are running Shaadi.com. We are only a matchmaker. I am the MD. One employee was arrested, but he was released on bail. They claim I haven’t complied with Section 79 of the IT Act, etc. This is a case of cheating,”
The Court responded,
“You are facilitating the fraud, that’s why,”
Nadkarni replied,
“I am just facilitating matching,”
The Telangana government’s counsel opposed the plea to quash the case, stating that a relationship manager from the company had engaged with the matrimonial profiles involved and had conducted a filtering process.
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The counsel asserted,
“The Relationship Manager of their company went and provided the profiles. He was responsible for the filtration,”
Nadkarni countered that the alleged fraud did not occur on the platform itself.
He explained,
“They communicated via WhatsApp. They simply met on Shaadi.com,”
Nadkarni further stated that the company was cooperating with the investigation.
He questioned,
“We are cooperating with the investigation. But why am I being labeled an accused?”
Ultimately, the Court redirected Mittal to the Telangana High Court, instructing it to reconsider the shaadi.com founder’s plea to quash the case, this time based on the merits.
Case Title: Anupam Mittal vs. State of Telangana & Anr.