Supreme Court extends interim protection from arrest granted to actors in chit fund case

The Supreme Court on Monday (December 15,2025) extended interim protection from arrest to actors Shreyas Talpade and Alok Nath till the conclusion of an investigation into a cheating and criminal breach of trust case involving a chit fund run by the Human Welfare Credit Cooperative Society Ltd.

A Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan passed the order in a plea made by Mr. Talpade’s counsel for an extension of a July 21 order of the apex court, protecting him. The counsel submitted the actor was only a brand ambassador and not involved in the running of the cooperative society.

“If a top actor or a cricketer is advertising or appearing as a brand ambassador for a corporate company which later goes into liquidation or against which criminal cases are filed, will it also go against the cricketer or actor?” Justice Nagarathna asked.

The apex court granted the same relief to actor Alok Nath, who had filed a separate petition in the same case. His counsel said the actor had not attended any function organised by the society.

The Supreme Court was hearing pleas filed by Mr. Talpade and Mr. Nath for clubbing of FIRs registered in various States in connection with the case. Thirteen people, including Mr. Talpade and Mr. Nath, were booked on the basis of a complaint made by a Haryana resident. The complaint alleged that the actors “promoted the Human Welfare Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, as brand ambassadors”.

“Day in and day out, he (Talpade) has promoted this company. Each year he comes for the events of the company. Trusting him, people have invested their money. There has to be some liability,” the complainant’s counsel submitted.

The Bench however said Talpade was not a member of the company.

“The public are very naive and very greedy at the same time. They want more interest for their investments. People go to such small-time investment companies because they are greedy,” Justice Nagarathna remarked.

Talpade’s lawyer said his client was not running away from the investigation, but cooperating with the police.