The Supreme Court of India has refused to close the criminal case against Shaddi.com founder Anupam Mittal, which was filed by a Hyderabad woman over a defraud case of Rs 10 Lakh on the matrimony platform.
What is actually the criminal case?
The case began on February 25, 2025, when a Hyderabad-based police station filed a complaint against the matrimony platform. A woman accused the platform of displaying fraudulent profiles, resulting in a loss of Rs 10 lakh for her. The fake profile, as admitted by the woman, was of Cherukuri Harsha, who used a politician’s photo to pose as an eligible candidate for the marriage.
After her family began the wedding proceedings, Cherukuri Harsha fabricated several emergencies to obtain money; over time, he extorted a total of approximately Rs 10-11 lakh.
When she asked him for the refund, he threatened the woman and asked her not to call him again.
What is the shaddi.com’s defence?
Shaddi.com’s legal team highlights that Cherukuri Harshahad had only OTP-based verification, and no official ID was uploaded and can be seen on his profile. They also argued that the women met and transacted with the man outside our platform, which might cause their personal conflict.
Currently, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Jomalya Bagchi have ordered an extension of the investigation and requested that the Telangana Police submit additional responses.
Shaddi.com has been the subject of numerous questions, as any platform that offers paid features bears primary responsibility. But if your platform is responsible for deciding someone’s whole life than verifications and cross-checking are compulsory features.
Meanwhile, Shaddi.com is one of India’s first matrimony platforms, operational since 1997.
Shaddi.com claims to have facilitated over 50 lakh successful weddings and maintains an active user base of over 3.5 crore people.
Shaadi.com is backed by prominent investors including WestBridge Capital, Saama Capital, Intel Capital, and InnoVen Capital.
Recently, Anupam Mittal was seen to protect its holdings from their leading investor, Westbridge Capital, who backed the startup with Rs 166 cr in 2006.
For detailed information on this case, you can refer to this report by Moneycontrol.
