Red Chillies, Netflix get HC summons in Wankhede’s Rs 2 crore defamation suit

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued summons to Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Netflix, Google, X Corp, Meta Platforms, and RPG Lifestyle Media Pvt Ltd in a defamation suit filed by IRS officer Sameer Wankhede.

The former Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), who had arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the 2021 Mumbai cruise drugs case, has sought damages of Rs 2 crore and an injunction against the depiction of a character allegedly based on him in the Netflix series, ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’, directed by Aryan Khan.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, while hearing the matter titled Sameer Dnyandev Wankhede v Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt Ltd & Ors, directed the issuance of summons to all defendants and sought their replies on Wankhede’s plea.

“Let them take instructions and file a reply. Cannot pass an injunction order in general,” the Court observed. The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 30.

Wankhede, in his suit, has arrayed Red Chillies Entertainment, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan, along with global platforms Netflix, X Corp, Google, Meta, and the media outlet RPG Lifestyle Media Pvt Ltd as defendants.

He alleged that the web series contained a scene featuring a man bearing close resemblance to him, which “targets and ridicules” his persona and professional conduct during the NCB’s 2021 drug investigations.

Claiming that his portrayal in the series was “false, malicious and defamatory”, Wankhede sought directions to restrain the defendants from making, publishing or disseminating any further defamatory statements concerning him.

He has also sought a takedown of the impugned content and an injunction against “John Doe” (unknown) creators and social media publishers from circulating related material online.

According to the plaint, “The Defendant No. 1 has purposefully and intentionally crafted a character in defamatory content with the sole intent to connect with the plaintiff, making the character’s actions, speech and traits strikingly similar to those of the plaintiff. Therefore, this was a conscious and intentional attempt to portray the plaintiff in a negative light, camouflaging their malicious intentions by creating a character that mimics the plaintiff’s persona.”