Supreme Court grants relief to Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath in marketing scam case

Bollywood actors Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath have been granted temporary relief by the Supreme Court, which has prohibited their arrest until the probe into a cheating and breach of trust case involving a society is completed.

Defence statements before the court

Appearing before a bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan, Shreyas’s lawyer clarified that the actor had merely attended the company’s annual function as an invited celebrity guest. In a conversation with PTI, the counsel added, "I am not supposed to know. I never earned any money". Nath's lawyer submitted that the actor has not attended any function and his photo has been used 10 years.

Court’s observation on celebrity endorsements

According to The Hindu, the bench said, “If a top actor or a cricketer is giving his advertisement or appearing as a brand ambassador for corporate company which goes into liquidation or there are criminal cases against the company will it also go against the cricketer or actor? We dispose of this writ petition [filed by Talpade] by continuing the interim order of protection from arrest granted by us until the investigation into the offences against the petitioner is complete”.

Petitions seeking merger of FIRs

On Monday, the Supreme Court took up the petitions of Shreyas and Alok, who sought to have multiple FIRs filed in different states combined into a single case. The complaint, submitted by 37-year-old Vipul Antil from Sonipat, lists thirteen accused, including the two actors. Antil alleged that both the actors “promoted the Human Welfare Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, as brand ambassadors”.

Details of FIR and allegations

According to the FIR lodged on January 22, offences were registered under Sections 316(2), 318(2), and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, citing allegations of cheating and criminal breach of trust. The police claimed that the society had committed a “serious crime of cheating the public through financial schemes”.

About FIR registered against Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath

An FIR has been registered here against 22 people, including Bollywood actors Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath, in connection with a fake finance company duping hundreds of investors by promising to double their money within a year, officials said on Saturday.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Praveen Singh Chauhan said the company, Urban State Credit Cooperative Society Limited, based in Loni, operated investment schemes through agents in several districts of western Uttar Pradesh, including Baghpat, Meerut, and Ghaziabad.

According to Chauhan, the company used well-known film personalities to promote its schemes.

Over 500 investors reportedly deposited lakhs of rupees in the scheme. However, after a year, when investors sought to withdraw their funds, the company's office was found locked, and its officials missing, police said.

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