The Allahabad High Court has quashed a criminal case against Shaadi.com founder and CEO Anupam Mittal, ruling that the matchmaking platform cannot be held responsible for actions of its users.
The case, registered in 2022 following a user complaint alleging promotion of obscenity and extortion on the platform, has been dismissed, as per media reports. The complaint had alleged that a woman had captured obscene videos of the complainant and demanded extortion money, claiming that Shaadi.com’s customer care and Mittal failed to address the issue.
In its September 23 judgment, a Division Bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Madan Pal Singh observed that Mittal, as the CEO, was only a facilitator for exchanging information. The bench noted that intermediaries are governed by the Information Technology (IT) Act and exempt from liability for third-party actions on their platform.
The Court emphasized that actions were taken whenever complaints were received and that the company was protected under Section 79 (1) and (2) of the IT Act. It added that Mittal could not be held personally liable, and the complainant continued using the platform despite the alleged harassment, indicating no direct abetment from the company.
Since the offences were not made out against Mittal, the Court proceeded to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him by Agra Police.
Senior Advocate Manish Tiwari, along with advocates Anurag Vajpeyi and Pranav Tiwary, represented Mittal. Advocates Ajay Kumar Chaurasia and Sunil Kumar Gaur appeared for the respondents.
