Sameer Wankhede vs Aryan Khan: Delhi HC issues notice against Red Chillies, Netflix; defamation case filed over 'The Ba***ds of Bollywood'

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued summons to Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix and others in response to a defamation suit filed by former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai zonal director and IRS officer Sameer Wankhede. The plea pertains to the Netflix web series The Ba**ds of Bollywood*, which Wankhede claims has maligned his reputation.

The court has directed Red Chillies Entertainment and other respondents to file their replies within seven days and instructed Wankhede to provide them copies of the petition. The matter has been listed for hearing on October 30.


Wankhede’s petition names Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, along with Netflix and others. He has sought a permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration, and damages of Rs 2 crore, which he has said should be donated to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients.

“This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions,” Wankhede stated in his plea. He 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 as cases involving him and Aryan Khan remain pending before the Bombay high court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.

The suit also raises objections to a scene in the show where a character makes an obscene gesture after reciting Satyamev Jayate, which Wankhede says is a “grave and sensitive violation” of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. He further contends that the content violates provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita by attempting to “outrage national sentiment through the use of obscene and offensive material.”

Wankhede has urged the court to restrain the streaming and distribution of the show and declare its content defamatory. He said the portrayal undermines faith in institutions responsible for enforcing drug laws.

In May 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against Wankhede, accusing him of attempting to extort Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan during the 2021 cruise ship drugs investigation involving Aryan Khan. Wankhede has denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated, and cited text messages with Shah Rukh Khan to support his claims.

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