Delhi High Court Rejects Sameer Wankhede's Defamation Suit Against Netflix's The Bads of Bollywood

The Delhi High Court on Thursday (January 29) rejected a defamation case filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede against Netflix and Shah Rukh Khan's production house Red Chillies Entertainment, over the alleged defamatory portrayal of him in Aryan Khan-directed The Bads of Bollywood.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav dismissed the case, stating that the High Court was not the appropriate forum to hear the matter and advised Wankhede to approach the court of competent jurisdiction.

Delhi High Court dismisses Sameer Wankhede's defamation suit against The Bads of Bollywood

Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak appeared for Wankhede. Red Chillies Entertainment was represented by Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, while Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar represented Netflix.

"This Court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the plaint. The plaint is returned to the plaintiff to approach the Court of competent jurisdiction. Application, if any, stands dismissed,” the Court's order said, reported Bar and Bench.

Wankhede sought to take down the content (from the timestamp 32:02 to 33:50) from Episode 1 of Netflix's series, which features a character resembling him in both appearance and mannerisms.

Red Chillies and Netflix, opposing the suit, argued that the court did not have the territorial jurisdiction to consider the defamation suit. Their lawyers said it ought to have been filed in Mumbai, since Wankhede’s residence and the production company are in Mumbai.

Why Sameer Wankhede filed defamation suit against The Bads of Bollywood

In September last year, after the release of The Bads of Bollywood, Wankhede, in his suit, sought Rs 2 crore in damages over Aryan's debut series, claiming that the show contains “false, malicious, and defamatory content” intended to malign his image.

In his lawsuit, Wankhede demanded that the money, which he has sought, should be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients.

Wankhede claimed that the Netflix show damaged the professional reputation of the anti-drug enforcement agencies by showing them in a negative light.

He further claimed that the show was "deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign" his reputation in a "colourable and prejudicial manner."

Aryan Khan's drug case

In October 2021, Aryan Khan, along with others, was arrested in a drug case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) after the NCB raided a cruise ship and seized banned drugs. Wankhede was in charge of the case.

Aryan was released on bail after 25 days in jail. In May 2022, all charges against him were dropped, and Wankhede was removed from the case after being accused of blackmail.