The Supreme Court has protected actors Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath from arrest till completion of investigation in the Haryana multi-marketing scam case. The Court raised key questions on celebrity liability in brand endorsements while keeping all legal issues open.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Monday granted interim protection from arrest to Bollywood actors Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath in a criminal case related to alleged cheating and criminal breach of trust involving the Human Welfare Credit Cooperative Society Ltd.
The protection will continue until the police complete the investigation in the matter.
The case was heard by a Bench of Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan. The Court was dealing with petitions filed by both actors seeking the clubbing of multiple FIRs registered against them in different states on similar allegations.
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While disposing of Shreyas Talpade’s writ petition, the Supreme Court directed that the interim protection from arrest already granted to him would remain in force until the investigation into the offences is concluded.
The Court made it clear that this protection is temporary and all issues will be examined after the investigation is completed.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Sandeep Bajaj, along with Advocates Aditya Chopra, Naman Tandon, and Mayank Biyani, appeared on behalf of Shreyas Talpade.
The counsel informed the Court that Talpade was only invited as a guest celebrity to attend annual events organised by the company and had no involvement in its business, management, or financial activities. Emphasising that the actor had no role in the alleged fraud, the counsel told the Court,
“I am not supposed to know. I never earned any money,”.
Appearing for actor Alok Nath, his counsel submitted that Nath had not even attended any event organised by the cooperative society.
It was argued that his photograph was allegedly used without his consent for almost ten years and that he had no connection whatsoever with the society’s business or financial dealings. The defence strongly denied any association between Nath and the cooperative society.
During the proceedings, the Supreme Court raised an important legal question on the criminal liability of celebrities who appear in advertisements or promotions.
The Bench asked whether an actor or even a cricketer could be held criminally responsible if a company they promote later goes into liquidation or becomes involved in criminal proceedings.
The criminal case originated from a complaint filed by Vipul Antil, a 37-year-old resident of Sonipat. Based on this complaint, the police registered an FIR against thirteen persons, including Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath.
Antil alleged that the two actors promoted the cooperative society as brand ambassadors and that their presence and endorsements influenced people to invest money in the entity.
According to the police, it has been alleged that the presence of well-known personalities as brand ambassadors lured victims into depositing money with the cooperative society.
Acting on the complaint, an FIR was registered on January 22 under Sections 316(2), 318(2), and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. These provisions relate to offences such as cheating and criminal breach of trust.
The police have stated that the investigation is still ongoing and that the exact role of the actors, if any, will be determined only after examining evidence collected during the investigation.
Taking note of this, the Supreme Court clarified that its protection from arrest would operate only till the investigation is completed and that all legal issues will remain open for consideration thereafter.
In the writ petition filed through Advocate-on-Record Naman Tondon, Shreyas Talpade has requested the Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus or appropriate directions to transfer all FIRs against him to the Gomti Nagar Police Station in Lucknow.
This is where the first FIR, bearing No. 20 of 2025, was registered under Sections 409 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
The petition also seeks consolidation of similar complaints filed in Jind in Haryana, Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, and Kotdwar in Uttarakhand.
According to Talpade, the registration of multiple FIRs across different states for the same allegations amounts to harassment and misuse of the criminal justice system.
Talpade has stated in his plea that he was invited only as a guest celebrity to attend annual programmes organised by the SAGA Group between 2018 and 2022.
He has asserted that he had no commercial, managerial, or decision-making role in the group’s activities or in any of its cooperative societies, including Loni Urban Multi-State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society Limited and Human Welfare Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society Limited.
The actor has claimed that he is being wrongly dragged into criminal cases without any specific allegation or evidence showing his involvement in the alleged offences.
Several FIRs registered against him invoke provisions under both the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including Sections 409, 420, 419, 406, and 316, which relate to criminal breach of trust, cheating, and impersonation.
Talpade’s petition further argues that the multiplicity of criminal proceedings against him is an abuse of the legal process and amounts to a violation of his fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Case Title:
Shreyas Talpade v. State of Haryana and connected matters.
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