Karnataka HC orders India Post to restore services to Vihaan Direct Selling

Bengaluru, Aug 22 (PTI) The Karnataka High Court has directed the Department of Posts to immediately resume services to Vihaan Direct Selling (India) Private Ltd, the Indian sub-franchisee of QNET, ending an 18-month suspension that had disrupted product deliveries to customers across the country.

The suspension, imposed in February 2024, was linked to a 2019 advisory from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs citing ongoing criminal cases against Vihaan.

However, in its final order, the High Court said that unresolved investigations cannot be treated as proof of illegality.

“There is neither a concluded enquiry nor a conclusive finding by any court that declares the activities of Vihaan as prohibited. Pending proceedings cannot be presumptively construed as proof of illegality,” the bench observed.

The court also warned that official communications from government departments suggesting wrongdoing before the conclusion of judicial proceedings could prejudice ongoing cases and unjustly harm the company’s reputation.

The India Post has now been directed to process Vihaan’s pending application and restore services within two weeks.

In its response, Vihaan alleged that the Financial Frauds Victims Welfare Association (FFVWA) and its member Gurupreet Singh Anand had worked with the postal department to influence the suspension, accusing them of "running a campaign of blackmail and misinformation".

The company stressed that the Karnataka High Court had already ruled in 2017 that its business model did not violate the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act. PTI COR JR ROH