Shocked At The Manner In Which FIR Was Registered: Supreme Court Quashes FIR Against Former Regional Head Of Zee Rajasthan In Extortion Case

Quashing the FIR against Ashish Dave, the former regional head of Zee Rajasthan, a bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said the police officer investigating the case should have made an inquiry and confirmed the allegations before registering the complaint.

"We are shocked at the manner in which the FIR was registered. Which particular allegation of extortion, which particular offence of misuse of his position in the company was set out in the FIR and in the complaint, which required the police station concerned to immediately go for the registration of the FIR? Without there being any allegation at all! It is all story -- all a fictional story," Justice Mehta observed.

The Court remarked that the FIR was lodged only because the complainant (the media company) was an affluent agency.

"A common citizen, if he goes to the police station, would you register such an FIR? This FIR contained nothing. Simply because the complainant happens to be an influential agency, you registered the FIR just like that.

"We are making serious comments on the conduct of the Rajasthan Police, if you want. What is this FIR? A common citizen, if he goes to the police station, he will be thrown out for such allegations. It is a fact you cannot deny. The complainant was such privileged that for him, police opened red carpets and registered FIR. This is James Bond? Shoot first, think later?" the judge asked.

Dave had moved the Apex Court against a Rajasthan High Court order that had refused to quash the FIR against him, saying, "Media professionals are expected to avoid causing undue harm to anyone by way of threat or extortion."

The channel management had got the complaint lodged at Jaipur's Ashok Nagar police station against its then regional head, Dave, and others on the charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct.

The alleged scam surfaced after the channel received several complaints against Dave and others. Subsequently, a team from the company's head office visited the regional office and during an internal inquiry, an employee was caught on CCTV camera allegedly fleeing with Rs 5 lakh from a locker.

Following the revelations, Dave and others were asked to resign by the channel management.

Dave had applied for anticipatory bail in the district and sessions court, which had denied him the relief. He then approached the Rajasthan High Court, which directed the Jaipur Police to complete the probe within six weeks and submit evidence.