‘Not maintainable’: Court setback to Sameer Wankhede in plea against Aryan Khan's Ba***ds of Bollywood
The Delhi high court held that the plea against ‘Ba***ds of Bollywood’ was "not maintainable", asking Sameer Wankhede to amend it.
The Delhi high court on Friday questioned the maintainability of the defamation suit filed by former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede against Red Chillies Entertainment limited owned by actor Shahrukh Khan and Gauri Khan for their series “Ba***ds of Bollywood” and asked him to amend the same, justifying as to why it should be entertained.
A bench of justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued the direction, even as Wankhede’s lawyer Sandeep Sethi, submitted that the Delhi high court’s jurisdiction was justified since the series had been viewed by viewers in Delhi and various since posts and reactions targeting Wankhede had emerged from individuals in Delhi.
“Your plaint is not maintainable here in Delhi. Mr Sethi, look at the cause of action jurisdiction. Had your case been that look I’ve been defamed at various places including Delhi and maximum damage has occurred in Delhi, we would have understood and still considered the matter here in Delhi,” justice Kaurav said to Sethi.
He added, “Having considered the provisions of section 19 of the CPC and also of the facts that the plaintiff in paragraph number 37 and 38 has not properly made the averments as to how the civil suit would lie here in Delhi. Mr Sethi, seeks time to take out proper application for necessary amendment. Let the matter be listed thereafter.”
Even though the court permitted Wankhede to amend the suit, it did not give a next date of hearing and said that the same would be listed by the registry. “Don’t give the date, the Registry will give the date. You file the application, the Registry will list thereafter,” the bench said.
{{/usCountry}}Even though the court permitted Wankhede to amend the suit, it did not give a next date of hearing and said that the same would be listed by the registry. “Don’t give the date, the Registry will give the date. You file the application, the Registry will list thereafter,” the bench said.
{{/usCountry}}In his suit, Wankhede has sought directions to Red Chillies Entertainment Limited and Netflix to take down content from Episode 1 of the series, created, co-written, and directed by Aryan Khan,specifically from the timestamp 32:02 to 33:50, which features a character who closely resembles him in both appearance and mannerisms.
{{/usCountry}}In his suit, Wankhede has sought directions to Red Chillies Entertainment Limited and Netflix to take down content from Episode 1 of the series, created, co-written, and directed by Aryan Khan,specifically from the timestamp 32:02 to 33:50, which features a character who closely resembles him in both appearance and mannerisms.
{{/usCountry}}The character is portrayed as an officer arriving at a scene in a private vehicle, chanting “Satyamev Jayate,” and shown wearing a luxury belt, wristwatch to target individuals connected to the film industry.
{{/usCountry}}The character is portrayed as an officer arriving at a scene in a private vehicle, chanting “Satyamev Jayate,” and shown wearing a luxury belt, wristwatch to target individuals connected to the film industry.
{{/usCountry}}Wankhede, in his suit, has asserted that the character in the content, wearing a luxury belt and wrist watch, depicts him as an officer of doubtful integrity and bears an oblique reference to certain baseless allegations against him, which are the subject matter of pending proceedings. It went on to add that the content targets him personally and ridicules the NCB.
“The defamatory content appears nothing short of a calculated and vindictive ‘hit job’ orchestrated to target and malign the plaintiff. The manner in which the defamatory content was visualised and produced with innuendo-laden dialogues, suggestive editing with specific focus on negative elements of the character, makes it manifestly clear that the defamatory content was not produced and broadcast in good faith or for any legitimate purpose,” the suit stated.
The content, the officer has asserted, disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, and has purposefully and intentionally crafted a character with the sole intent to connect him.
In October 2021, Wankhede arrested Aryan after raiding the Cordelia yacht in Mumbai.
The NCB in 2022 exonerated Khan and five others as it filed a charge sheet against 14 people in the case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of NCB found no evidence that Aryan Khan was part of a larger drug conspiracy or an international trafficking syndicate, and that there were several irregularities in the raid during which he was arrested.
Wankhede later came under the scrutiny of multiple agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in July 2023, for allegedly demanding a ₹25 crore bribe from Shah Rukh Khan in exchange for not implicating Aryan Khan in the case. In 2022, his tenure with NCB ended and he was sent back to his parent organisation, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
