The Rajasthan High Court has granted interim protection to Hyundai Motor India’s Managing Director Unsoo Kim, COO Tarun Garg, and brand ambassadors Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, staying investigation in an FIR that alleged cheating, criminal breach of trust and conspiracy under Sections 406, 420 and 120-B IPC.
The complaint, filed by a Bharatpur resident, arose from alleged technical defects in a Hyundai Alcazar purchased in 2022. The complainant claimed that despite the vehicle clocking over 67,000 km, recurring problems persisted and his request for replacement or refund was ignored, prompting him to name Hyundai’s top executives and endorsing celebrities in the criminal proceedings.
The petitioners contended that the FIR was nothing more than an abuse of process. It was urged that neither the brand ambassadors nor the senior executives were involved in the sale or after-sale service of the car. Counsel highlighted that Hyundai Motor India Ltd. itself had not been impleaded, and that the principle of vicarious liability has no application in such matters. They further stressed that the complainant ought to have pursued his remedies before the consumer forum rather than resorting to criminal prosecution against high-profile individuals.
Justice Sudesh Bansal, while staying further investigation against the petitioners, observed that“The implication of all four petitioners in the present criminal complaint is absolutely arbitrary and malicious. On a bare perusal of the complaint in its entirety, there is no iota of allegation of ingredients of the alleged offences against the petitioners, rather the complaint as a whole does not disclose any cognizable offence.”
The Court has directed that no coercive steps be taken against the petitioners and has advised the parties to attempt mediation. The matter will now be heard on next date of hearing. This order comes as a notable relief for the celebrity endorsers and Hyundai’s senior management, shielding them, at least for the time being, from criminal liability in a consumer grievance.
Case Title: Unsoo Kim vs State of Rajasthan and Anr.
Case No: S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous (Petition) No. 5668/2025
Coram: Justice Sudesh Bansal
Counsel for the petitioner: Kapil Siba (Sr. Adv), V.R. Bajwa (Sr. Adv), Madhav Mitra, Aparjita Jamwal, Aditya Sharma, Jaya Mitra, Sanjay Kumar, Abhishek Kr. Singh, Saurabh Kumar, edanshi Jalan, Savita Nathawat, Advocates
Counsel for the respondents: PP. Vivek Choudhary,
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