HC notice to Red Chillies, Netflix on Wankhede's defamation suit against 'Ba***ds of Bollywood'

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to actor Shahrukh Khan, Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix on a defamation suit filed by IRS officer Sameer Wankhede for allegedly maligning his reputation in their series “The Ba***ds of Bollywood”.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued summons to defendants—Gauri Khan owned Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix, X Corp (formerly Twitter), Google LLC, Meta Platforms, RPSG Lifestyle Media Private Limited and John Doe—on the defamation suit and asked them to file their replies within seven days.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on October 30.

The court, which did not pass any interim injunction order at this stage, asked the defendants to also file their replies on Wankhede’s application seeking to take down the alleged defamatory content from several websites.

Wankhede sought Rs 2 crore in damages which he wants to be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients.

“This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions,” the plea said.

The plea stated the series has been deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner, especially when the case involving the officer and Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan khan is pending and sub-judice before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.