The Supreme Court expressed concern over online platform Shaadi.com after learning that mediation attempts had repeatedly failed between the estranged couple. Justice JB Pardiwala remarked, “Shaadi.com? You met on Shaadi.com?” after hearing husband had not seen his wife.
The Supreme Court expressed concerns regarding the online platform Shaadi.com.
When a lawyer informed the court that mediation attempts had failed repeatedly and that the husband had not seen his wife for two years, Justice JB Pardiwala questioned,
“Shaadi.com? You met on Shaadi.com?”
Upon confirming that the estranged couple had indeed met on the matrimonial site, Justice Pardiwala inquired,
“What do we do with this shaadi.com?”
He ultimately urged the lawyer to attempt mediation once more.
This remark follows the recent protection granted to Anupam Mittal, the founder of Shaadi.com, from coercive actions in a case where a man allegedly committed fraud against a woman he met through the platform.
A woman in Hyderabad claimed that she was swindled out of Rs.11 lakh by a Shaadi.com user who had set up a fraudulent profile on the site. She further alleged that the platform did not adequately verify the details of its users.
Earlier, On February 3, the Supreme Court provided Mittal with eight weeks of interim protection from coercive measures related to a cheating complaint filed by a woman against a man she purportedly met through the site in Hyderabad.
The court set-aside a prior ruling by the Telangana High Court that had refused to dismiss the criminal proceedings against Mittal.
A bench consisting of Justices P K Mishra and NV Anjaria referred the case back to the High Court, instructing it to reevaluate the matter based on its merits.
This reassessment will examine the extent of a matrimonial platform’s responsibility when users engage in fraudulent behavior towards one another.
During the proceedings, Mittal argued that Shaadi.com serves solely as a matchmaking service and should not be held accountable for interactions that occur afterwards, especially when users transition their communications to private messaging platforms like WhatsApp.