The Madhya Pradesh High Court has declined to grant anticipatory bail to a journalist accused of allegedly attempting to extort a Goods and Services Tax (GST) officer by launching a sustained online campaign against her after his GST registration application was rejected.
Justice Rajesh Kumar Gupta, in an order dated June 30, held that the allegations reflected a serious attempt to intimidate a public servant through defamatory social media posts and threats. Considering the gravity of the accusations and the material collected during the investigation, the Court found no justification for extending the discretionary protection of pre-arrest bail under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The Court observed that the case records indicated the applicant had first sought approval of his GST registration despite deficiencies in the application. When the request was turned down, he allegedly resorted to publishing objectionable content targeting the officer in an effort to pressure her.
According to the Court, the investigation also includes WhatsApp conversations that prima facie suggest threats and an attempt to secure unlawful financial gain from the complainant.
The criminal case stems from a complaint filed by an Assistant Commissioner of the GST Department posted in Shivpuri. Based on her complaint, an FIR was registered against Pradeep Kumar Jatav under Sections 308(2) and 308(6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), provisions dealing with extortion and threats made to facilitate extortion.
The prosecution stated that Jatav’s GST registration application, submitted in July 2025, was rejected because it lacked essential identity documents and other mandatory paperwork. Despite being informed about these shortcomings, he allegedly continued approaching the officer and insisted that the registration be approved.
Investigators further alleged that after the application was rejected, Jatav claimed to have suffered losses of nearly ₹20 lakh and demanded compensation from the officer.
The prosecution also alleged that beginning in December 2025, he started sending WhatsApp messages containing defamatory allegations and warning that the material would be made public. Over the following months, he allegedly posted multiple messages on Facebook accusing the officer of corruption while also sharing photographs of her residence and family members.
According to the complaint, when the officer confronted him over the online posts, he allegedly demanded ₹1 crore in exchange for stopping the publication of the content. The threats, the prosecution said, continued through phone calls and messaging platforms.
Investigators further claimed that even after his phone number was blocked, the accused persisted with the online campaign and allegedly threatened to implicate the officer and her family in fabricated criminal cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other serious offences.
Seeking protection from arrest, Jatav moved the High Court, maintaining that the case was fabricated. His counsel argued that he was only exposing alleged misconduct by the complainant and contended that custodial interrogation was unnecessary since the evidence relied upon by investigators consisted mainly of documents and electronic records already in their possession.
The State opposed the plea, arguing that the allegations disclosed a deliberate attempt to pressure and blackmail a government official. Counsel appearing for the complainant also urged the Court to reject the application, submitting that the accused had sought to force the officer into granting an invalid request and, after failing to do so, allegedly launched a campaign to damage her reputation.
After examining the submissions and the material placed before it, the High Court concluded that the nature of the accusations did not warrant the extraordinary relief of anticipatory bail and dismissed the application.
