The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a plea filed by Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal challenging criminal proceedings initiated against him in connection with an alleged matrimonial fraud committed through the platform. The case concerns allegations that the platform failed to adequately verify the credentials of a man who is accused of defrauding a woman after connecting with her via the website.

A Bench comprising Justices P.K. Mishra and N.V. Anjaria noted that it had earlier stayed the proceedings against Mittal. Senior Advocate Atmaram Nadkarni, appearing for Mittal, submitted that Shaadi.com merely acts as a matchmaking platform and cannot be held responsible for subsequent interactions between users, particularly where communications shifted to private platforms such as WhatsApp. He also pointed out that the company was cooperating with the investigation and questioned the basis for arraying Mittal personally as an accused.

The Court, however, observed that the allegation against the platform was of facilitating the fraud and questioned why the quashing plea had not been pressed effectively before the High Court. Taking note of the fact that the High Court had not examined the quashing petition on merits, the Supreme Court set aside the impugned High Court order and remitted the matter back for fresh consideration.

The Bench clarified that it had expressed no opinion on the merits of the case and restored the criminal proceedings to their original file before the High Court. It granted liberty to Mittal to seek interim relief from the High Court and directed that no coercive steps be taken against him for a period of eight weeks.