SC Slams Rajasthan Police, Quashes Zee Rajasthan Extortion FIR
SC Slams Rajasthan Police, Quashes Zee Rajasthan Extortion FIR
Supreme Court blasts the Rajasthan Police as it quashes an extortion FIR against Ashish Dave, former Zee Rajasthan head, calling the filing bogus and urging fair remedies for common citizens.
The Supreme Court on Friday came down heavily on the Rajasthan Police for acting like “James Bond” and adopting a “shoot first, ask questions later” approach, while quashing an extortion and fraud case involving Ashish Dave, the former regional head of Zee Rajasthan. Jaipur was cited in the course of the investigation as authorities looked into the alleged crimes surrounding the case.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta described the FIR as “bogus an FIR as it can get” and said it conveyed a disturbing message that “a common man has no remedy to lodge an FIR while there are privileged people who can register FIRs at the drop of a hat.” The strong remarks came during an exchange with additional solicitor general SD Sanjay, who appeared for the state of Rajasthan. “What kind of an FIR is this?” the bench asked at the outset. “You would throw out a common citizen who tries to register such an FIR with the police. This is as bogus an FIR as it can get. We are shocked at the manner in which this FIR was filed,” it added. When Sanjay submitted that there were complaints and many victims had not come forward due to fear, and argued that quashing the FIR would shut the door on the probe, the bench disagreed sharply. “You are mistaken. In Rajasthan, a common man has all the remedies to go to the police to register an FIR and if they do not, they go to courts. But we cannot allow such an FIR to stand even for a day,” the court said. Drawing an analogy, the bench asked: “Can you register a murder FIR against a person just because someone tells you that ‘such and such person has committed so many murders in all parts of the country’? Will you register an FIR? That is exactly how things have happened in this case.” “Your client cannot be a privileged client that your police roll out a red carpet for them…the FIR is quashed,” the bench said. Issuing stern comments during the hearing, the court asked the state: “Are you James Bond? Shoot first, ask questions later?”
The case against Mr. Dave had moved to the apex court after a Rajasthan High Court order refused to quash the FIR, which alleged extortion and fraud linked to the media sector with Dave as the focal figure in Zee Rajasthan’s regional leadership. The court’s decision underscores the need for careful, evidence-based investigations and reinforces the principle that ordinary citizens must retain access to lawful recourse without fear of misuse of the FIR process.
