The Delhi High Court issued summons to Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, and others in a defamation suit filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede against the makers of the show Ba***ds of Bollywood.
The plea pertains to the Netflix web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood, which Wankhede claims has maligned his image. He has sought damages worth Rs 2 crore, stating that the amount would be donated to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav also issued a notice on the application for interim relief. The matter has been listed for hearing on October 30.
Sameer Wankhede vs Aryan Khan
The High Court has directed Red Chillies Entertainment and others to file their replies within seven days, while the petitioner has been asked to file a rejoinder within three days thereafter. Additionally, the court has instructed the petitioner to supply copies of the petition to all defendants.
However, the High Court refused to grant any immediate relief to the petitioner and asked him to return after ten days.
In his plea, Wankhede stated, “This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.”
The petition further argued that the series was “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner,” even though cases involving the IRS officer and Aryan Khan are still pending before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.
During a previous hearing on September 26, the High Court had directed Wankhede to amend his defamation plea, observing that it was “not maintainable in Delhi.”
“I am rejecting your plaint. Had your case been that you have been defamed at various places, including in Delhi, and that the maximum damage has occurred in Delhi, we would still have considered the matter here,” Justice Kaurav had said at the time.
The plea also raised objections to a particular scene in which a character shows the middle finger immediately after uttering the national slogan “Satyamev Jayate.”
The former NCB officer contends that this gesture amounts to a serious violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, and is punishable under Indian law.
The plea further stated that the content of the series violates various provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as it seeks to outrage national sentiment through the use of obscene and offensive material.
