SC protects Shreyas Talpade, Alok Nath from arrest in marketing scam case

The Supreme Court on Monday extended a protective shield to actors Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath, granting them relief from arrest until the completion of the investigation in a case alleging cheating and criminal breach of trust linked to a cooperative society.

Hearing the matter, a bench comprising justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan weighed the submissions made on behalf of the two actors, who have sought the clubbing of multiple FIRs registered across states in connection with the case.

Appearing for Talpade, his counsel told the court that the actor’s association with the company was limited to a ceremonial role. He was invited merely as a guest celebrity for an annual event, the lawyer said, stressing that Talpade neither had knowledge of the society’s operations nor derived any financial benefit from it. “I was not supposed to know. I never earned any money,” the counsel submitted.

Alok Nath’s lawyer, meanwhile, argued that the veteran actor had not attended any event linked to the society at all and that his photograph had allegedly been used without consent for nearly a decade. Raising a broader question of principle, the counsel asked whether public figures such as actors or cricketers could be held criminally liable merely for appearing in advertisements or lending their name as brand ambassadors to corporate entities that later face legal trouble.

After considering the arguments, the bench ordered the continuation of interim protection granted earlier. “We dispose of this writ petition by continuing the interim order of protection from arrest granted by us until the investigation into the offences against the petitioner is complete,” the court said.

The case stems from a complaint filed by Vipul Antil, a 37-year-old resident of Sonipat, following which 13 individuals — including Talpade and Nath — were booked. Antil alleged that the actors promoted the Human Welfare Credit Cooperative Society Ltd as brand ambassadors, thereby inducing people to invest.

Police have maintained that the actors were named in the complaint because investors were allegedly lured by the presence of well-known personalities. An FIR was registered on 22 January under Sections 316(2), 318(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, covering offences including cheating and criminal breach of trust.

Investigators have alleged that the cooperative society carried out a “serious crime of cheating the public through financial schemes,” though they said the precise role of each accused, including the two actors, remains under investigation.

With the Supreme Court’s order, Talpade and Nath remain protected from arrest as the legal process unfolds, even as the case raises wider questions about celebrity endorsements, accountability, and the boundaries of criminal liability.

With PTI inputs