The Delhi High Court will hear IRS Officer Sameer Wankhede's defamation suit against Shah Rukh Khan’s home banner Red Chillies Entertainment, streaming platform Netflix on 10 November.
Wankhede had filed this case over his allegedly defamatory portrayal in Aryan Khan’s directorial debut series The Ba***ds Of Bollywood, as per legal news portal Live Law.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked the parties to file their written submissions and listed the matter for hearing next month.
During the proceedings, Senior Advocate J. Sai Deepak appeared on behalf of Wankhede, while Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar represented Netflix.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav had on 8 October issued summons to defendants — Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix, X Corp (formerly Twitter), Google LLC, Meta Platforms, RPSG Lifestyle Media Private Limited and John Doe — on the defamation suit and asked them to file their replies within seven days.
Wankhede has sought Rs 2 crore as damages which will be donated to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients, as per Live Law.
The suit also seeks a permanent and mandatory injunction against the production house and others for allegedly broadcasting a “false, malicious, and defamatory video” in the series. Wankhede also alleged that the series features a character making an “obscene gesture” after reciting the slogan “Satyamev Jayate”. This act, as per the suit, constitutes a grave and sensitive violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
The plea contends that some parts of the series breach provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as they allegedly outrage national sentiment through offensive and inappropriate material.
Wankhede’s suit further claims that the series has been deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign his reputation in a “colourable and prejudicial manner”, especially when the case involving him and Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan khan is sub-judice before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.
The controversy stems from a scene in Aryan Khan’s directorial debut that sparked speculation online about a dig at Wankhede — the former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer who arrested Aryan in the 2021 drug case.
According to media reports, Aryan was arrested on October 3, 2021, along with six others by the Narcotics Control Bureau during a raid on a cruise ship. He was detained as part of an investigation into an alleged international drugs racket. After being denied bail four times, he was cleared of all charges in May 2022.
Sameer Wankhede was later accused of corruption and extortion in connection with the case.
The Ba***ds of Bollywood scene in question shows an officer storming into a high-profile film party where he finds a man smoking a joint. Upon discovering the man is not from Bollywood, the officer lets him go. Moments later, he detains another man — who is only sipping a drink — simply because he belongs to the film industry.
Red Chillies Entertainment has called Wankhede’s allegations baseless and legally weak in its official response submitted to the Delhi High Court. The production banner has also questioned how Wankhede’s suit was maintainable in Delhi as the key parties — Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix — operate out of Mumbai.
On 30 October, the Delhi High Court granted time to Wankhede, Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix to file their written submissions in connection with the defamation suit.