Former NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede sought Rs 2 crore in damages which he wants to to be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Delhi High Court on Friday (September 26, 2025) questioned the maintainability of a defamation suit filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede against the Netflix series ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’ directed by Aryan Khan and produced by Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment.
Mr. Wankhede has sought a direction against the series, a declaration that it is defamatory, and damages of ₹2 crore, which he has pledged to donate to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked Mr. Wankhede how his case was maintainable in Delhi and whether any part of the cause of action arose in the Capital.
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Mr. Wankhede, said the web series is meant for across cities, including Delhi, and the officer has been defamed here.
The judge, however, asked Mr. Wankhede to amend his plea to specifically show how a valid cause of action had arisen in Delhi.
Mr. Wankhede, who headed the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) 2021 cruise ship raid that resulted in the arrest of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, claims the series maligns him personally and seeks to discredit anti-drug enforcement agencies. Aryan Khan was later cleared of all charges in 2022, with the NCB concluding that no drugs were found on him.
Mr. Wankhede’s plea said, “This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.”
It further claimed that “the series has been deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner”.
It also pointed to a depiction in the series of a character making an obscene gesture — “specifically, showing a middle finger after the character recites the slogan Satyamev Jayate which is part of the National Emblem”.
Mr. Wankhede said this act constitutes a violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, attracting penal consequences.
Additionally, the plea alleged that the series contravenes 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”.
Published – September 26, 2025 12:10 pm IST
