Supreme Court quashes FIR against former regional head of Zee Rajasthan in extortion case

The Supreme Court on Friday, February 27, 2026, came down heavily on the Rajasthan Police, which filed an FIR on charges of blackmail and extortion against the former district head of Zee Rajasthan, based on a complaint from the Zee Media company, and said it was shocked at the manner in which the case was filed.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, quashing the FIR against Zee Rajasthan’s former regional president Ashish Dave, said the police officer investigating the case should have conducted an investigation and verified the allegations before registering the complaint.

“We are shocked at the manner in which the FIR was registered. What allegation of extortion, what specific offense of misuse of position in the company has been made in the FIR and the complaint, which requires the concerned police station to take immediate action to register the FIR? There are no allegations! These are all stories, all fictional stories,” Justice Mehta said.

The court stated that the FIR was lodged only because the complainant (media company) was a wealthy entity.

“If an ordinary citizen went to the police station, would you register such an FIR? This FIR contained nothing. You registered the FIR this way because the complainant was an influential institution,” he said.

“We are making serious comments about the conduct of the Rajasthan Police, if you will. What is this FIR? If an ordinary citizen goes to the police station, he will be thrown out for such allegations. This is a fact you cannot deny. The complainant was so privileged that the police rolled out the red carpet for him and registered the FIR. Is this James Bond? Shoot first, think later?” the judge asked.

Mr. Dave had approached the apex court against the Rajasthan High Court’s order refusing to quash the FIR against him, saying: “Media professionals are expected to refrain from causing unnecessary harm to anyone through threats or extortion.”

The channel management had lodged a complaint with the Ashok Nagar police station in Jaipur against the then district head Mr. Dave and others, alleging cheating, breach of trust and abuse of power.

The alleged scam came to light after the channel received numerous complaints about Mr Dave and others. Later, a team from the company’s head office visited the regional office and during an internal investigation, an employee was caught on CCTV camera allegedly escaping with ₹5 lakh from the locker.

Following the statements, channel management demanded the resignation of Mr. Dave and others.

Mr Dave had applied for bail in the district and sessions court but the court had rejected the relief. He then approached the Rajasthan High Court and the court directed the Jaipur Police to complete the investigation and submit evidence within six weeks.