Supreme Court stays proceedings in ‘cheating case’ against Shaadi.com Founder Anupam Mittal

The Supreme Court has stayed a criminal case against Anupam Mittal, the founder and CEO of the matchmaking platform Shaadi.com. A complaint was filed by a Hyderabad-based woman who alleged being defrauded by a man she met on the matrimonial platform, as per a report by Bar and Bench.

What actually happened? 

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

The prospect convinced the woman to transfer INR 10 Lakh to him, citing false emergencies, including frozen bank accounts, as per a report by The Times of India.

When the woman asked for her money back, the man allegedly threatened to morph and share her photos and demanded even more money.

Shaadi.com was later named in the case for failing to verify the scammer’s identity. As claimed by the woman, Shaadi.com’s negligence allowed the fraud to happen.

According to a Bar & Bench report, though Mittal was not part of the original complaint but he was added as an accused during the police investigation.

Authorities argued that since Shaadi.com charges for premium services like “Select Shaadi,” it must verify user details.

During the hearing today, Mittal’s legal team shared that the accused had verified his profile using mobile OTP without uploading any government ID, which was clearly shown on his profile.

The Shaadi.com team also pointed out that the complainant chose to speak and transact with the accused outside the platform, ignoring the platform’s safety guidelines.

The Telangana High Court had allowed the investigation to continue and instructed Mittal’s company to cooperate. 

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

Founded by Anupam Mittal as Sagaai.com in 1997, Shaadi.com is one of India’s earliest online matrimony sites offering community-based matchmaking.

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

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

Also read: “I don’t need just engineers”: IIM grad replies after viral backlash for rejecting 4 IITians for startup (startuppedia.in)