The Allahabad High Court on September 26, 2025, quashed an FIR against Shaadi.com CEO Anupam Mittal, which had alleged cheating, extortion, criminal intimidation, conspiracy, and transmission of obscene material.
A division bench of Justices Madan Pal Singh and Siddhartha Varma held that Shaadi.com functions as an intermediary under the IT Act, 2000, and its CEO cannot be held liable for the independent actions of users. The Court noted that the FIR stemmed from a complaint where a subscriber was allegedly blackmailed by another user, but no dishonest intention or active role was attributed to Mr. Mittal.
Relying on precedents including Google India v. Visaka Industries (2020) 4 SCC 162 and Issac Isanga Musumba v. State of Maharashtra (2014) 15 SCC 357, the Court observed that intermediary liability arises only upon court or government directions which were absent in this case. It further found that the complainant had not suffered any actual pecuniary loss.
Accordingly, the Court ruled that offences under Sections 384 (extortion) and 420 (cheating) IPC were not made out and extended safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, thereby allowing Mittal’s writ petition and quashing the FIR.
Appearances:
Counsel for Petitioners(s) Advs.-Anurag Vajpeyi, Pranav Tiwary, Sr. Advocate
Counsel for Respondent(s) : Advs.- Ajay Kumar Chaurasia, G.A., Sunil Kumar Gaur
