The Delhi High Court on Friday raised questions on the maintainability of a defamation suit filed by IRS officer and former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede against Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan’s production house, Red Chillies Entertainment, and streaming giant Netflix. The case concerns alleged defamatory content in the web series “The Ba**ds of Bollywood.”*
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked Wankhede’s counsel how the plea was maintainable in Delhi jurisdiction. Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Wankhede, argued that since the series is streamed across India, including Delhi, the cause of action arose within the city. He, however, agreed to amend the plaint, following which the court granted him time to file an amended application before hearing the matter further.
Wankhede has sought a permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration, and damages against Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, and others, claiming that the series portrayed him in a false and malicious manner. His petition describes the production as a “false, malicious and defamatory video” aimed at damaging his reputation, particularly in the backdrop of the high-profile drugs case involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, which is currently pending before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.
The officer has demanded ₹2 crore in damages, with the stated intention of donating the sum to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the benefit of cancer patients.
In his plea, Wankhede contended that the series was “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign his reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner.” He further argued that such portrayals not only targeted him personally but also undermined the credibility of anti-narcotics enforcement agencies, “thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.”
The High Court will hear the matter after Wankhede files his amended application clarifying jurisdictional grounds. The case has attracted attention given its intersection of law enforcement, celebrity influence, and freedom of expression in digital media.
