In a major relief to two Bollywood actors -- Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath -- the Supreme Court on Monday in its order protected them from arrest until the investigation in a cheating and breach of trust against a society case concludes.
The top court's two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan, disposed of the petition filed by Talpade and Nath. The petition seeks SC direction for clubbing of the FIRs registered in various states in connection with the marketing scam case.
Claiming innocence in the case, Talpade's counsel said the actor was called as a guest celebrity in the annual event of the company. "I am not supposed to know. I never earned any money," the lawyer said.
Echoing Talpade, Nath's lawyer submitted that the actor has not attended any function, but his photo has been used for 10 years.
“I am not supposed to know. I never earned any money,” the lawyer submitted.
While extending the relief to the actor duo, the court observed, "If a top actor or a cricketer is advertising or appearing as a brand ambassador for a corporate company which goes into liquidation or if there are criminal cases against the company, will it also go against the cricketer or actor?"
Earlier in September, the apex court ordered protection from arrest to both in connection with the fraud case related to an alleged shady marketing scheme in Haryana.
According to the prosecution, the case pertains to a complaint filed by 37-year-old Sonipat resident Vipul Antil, against 13 people, including actors and brand ambassadors Talpade and Nath.
He alleged that both the actors "promoted the Human Welfare Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, as brand ambassadors".
Antil, in his complaint, alleged that the society committed a "serious crime of cheating the public through financial schemes".
The society was formed under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, and it started functioning in many states, including Haryana, in 2016.
"Its main functions were to provide savings schemes like fixed deposit and recurring deposit. It presented itself as a trustworthy and safe financial institution and carried out massive publicity to attract and convince investors. The model was based on multi-level marketing, which rapidly increased the number of investors," Antil in his complaint stated.
He further stated that, promising better returns, the society assured investors that their money would be safe and the maturity amount would be paid on time. He added that the society claimed they did so initially for a few years, but later delayed payment, making 'system upgradation' as an excuse.
Alleging that the investors could not get their hard-earned money, Antil claimed that investors and agents approached the society officials, but they were given false assurances.