Sameer Wankhede says Aryan Khan's show erodes public trust; Delhi HC questions plea

After Indian Revenue Service officer and former NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede filed a defamation suit against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and producer Gauri Khan, over alleged reputation damage in the web series The Ba**ds of Bollywood, the Delhi High Court on Friday (September 26) questioned the maintainability of his petition.

Also read: Sameer Wankhede sues Aryan Khan, SRK over his 'role' in Ba**ds of Bollywood

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked the lawyer representing Wankhede as to how the plea was maintainable in Delhi. Sandeep Sethi, a senior advocate representing Wankhede, responded that the series is meant for multiple cities, including the national capital, and the officer was defamed there. He said memes were also being made, affecting his client’s reputation.

The lawyer, however, added that he would amend the plaint accordingly. Subsequently, the court granted him time to file an amended application. It would hear the matter thereafter.

'Eroding public confidence'

Wankhede’s plea has sought a permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration and damages against Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix and others, for what he alleges is "false, malicious and defamatory video" of the production house and broadcast by Netflix as part of their television series.

Also read: Aryan drug case: Scheduled Caste panel official visits home of NCB officer

The former NCB zonal chief sought Rs 2 crore in damages that he sought to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for patient care.

The Ba***ds of Bollywood is the directorial debut series of Aryan. He has created, co-written and directed the series, which has been produced by Gauri under Red Chillies Entertainment.

Also read: CBI books Sameer Wankhede for seeking Rs 25 cr bribe to let off Aryan Khan

The opening episode of the series premiered on September 18, showed a character, visibly inspired by the officer, who appears outside a Bollywood party looking for stars "doing drugs". Social media has been abuzz with the character's comparison to Wankhede.

Wankhede-Aryan link

In October 2021, Aryan, along with Ayaaz Merchant and Munmum Dhamecha, was arrested by NCB personnel. They were charged with possession, consumption and purchase/sale of banned substances. The arrests took place after the bureau raided a luxury ship off the Mumbai coast and claimed to have taken possession of the drugs. Twenty people were arrested in all.

Also read: 'Please send my son home': When Shah Rukh Khan pleaded with NCB officer

Wankhede was in charge of the investigation and hogged the limelight after Aryan’s arrest. He spent around a month in jail before getting bail. In May the following year, all charges against Aryan were dropped. Wankhede was removed from the case amid accusations of blackmail.

(With agency inputs)