SC Stays Cheating Case Against Shaadi.com's Anupam Mittal

SUMMARY

The Supreme Court has stayed a criminal case against Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal

The case stems from a complaint filed by a Hyderabad woman who said she was defrauded by a man she met on the platform

The man, identified as Cherukuri Harsha (alias Jogada Vamsikrishna), allegedly used a fake profile with a politician’s photo and posed as a prospective groom

The Supreme Court has stayed a criminal case against Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal. The case stems from a complaint filed by a Hyderabad woman who said she was defrauded by a man she met on the platform.

The man, identified as Cherukuri Harsha (alias Jogada Vamsikrishna), allegedly used a fake profile with a politician’s photo and posed as a prospective groom. He convinced the woman to transfer over INR 10 Lakh to him, citing false emergencies, including frozen bank accounts, as per a report by The Times of India.

When she asked for her money back, he allegedly threatened to morph and share her photos and demanded even more money.

Shaadi.com was later named in the case for allegedly failing to verify the man’s identity. The woman said the platform’s negligence allowed the fraud to happen.

According to a Bar & Bench report, Mittal was not part of the original complaint but was added as an accused during the police investigation. Authorities argued that since Shaadi.com charges for premium services like “Select Shaadi,” it has a duty to verify user details.

During the hearing today, Mittal’s legal team said the accused had only verified his profile using mobile OTP and did not upload any government ID, which was clearly shown on his profile. It also pointed out that the complainant chose to speak and transact with the man outside the platform, ignoring the platform’s safety guidelines.

The Telangana High Court had earlier allowed the investigation to continue and asked Mittal and others to cooperate.

However, the Supreme Court bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stayed the proceedings in the case and sought the Telangana Police’s response.

Started in 1997 by Anupam Mittal as Sagaai.com, Shaadi.com is one of India’s earliest online matrimony sites. It offers community-based matchmaking and competes with BharatMatrimony and Jeevansathi.

Headquartered in Mumbai, it also operates in the UK, the UAE, Canada, and the US. It counts WestBridge, InnoVen Capital, Saama Capital, Intel Capital among its investors.

Notably, Shaadi.com has been involved in a messy legal dispute with WestBridge Capital over the former’s failure to buy back the latter’s stake.