NEW DELHI: Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai zonal director and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit in the Delhi high court against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the production company owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife, Gauri Khan.Also Read: ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’ cast fees revealedThe suit concerns Aryan Khan’s directorial debut series, The Ba***ds of Bollywood, which Wankhede claims has damaged his reputation. Netflix and others have also been named in the case.
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In his plea, Wankhede sought relief in the form of a permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration and damages.“This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions,” he said.He argued that the series was “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner,” particularly while cases involving him and Aryan Khan are still before the Bombay high court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.Also Read: Anupam Kher showers praise on Aryan Khan’s debut directorial ‘Ba***ds of Bollywood’; hints at working in his next? The former NCB officer said the portrayal unfairly targets him “at a time when the judicial scrutiny is ongoing”. His suit also points to a sequence in the show where a character makes an obscene gesture after reciting Satyamev Jayate. Wankhede contends this is a “grave and sensitive violation” of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, attracting penal consequences under law. He further claims the content contravenes provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) by seeking to “outrage national sentiment through the use of obscene and offensive material.” Wankhede has demanded damages of Rs 2 crore, which he has said should be donated to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients. The suit also seeks directions from the court to restrain streaming and distribution of the show, as well as a declaration of its defamatory nature. Wankhede has argued that, apart from harming his personal reputation, the content “undermines faith in institutions responsible for enforcing drug laws.” The Delhi high court is expected to hear the matter soon.According to Wankhede, the show misrepresents events linked to that investigation and portrays him in a negative light.‘A bribery charge’In May 2023, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede, accusing him of attempting to extort Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan. The case stems from a complaint by the NCB, which alleged that Wankhede and his associates sought the money in exchange for favourable treatment of Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, during the 2021 cruise ship drugs investigation.The CBI has charged Wankhede under sections of the Indian Penal Code (Now BNS) relating to criminal conspiracy and extortion, as well as provisions of anti-corruption law. Wankhede has denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated. In his defence, he cited text messages exchanged with Shah Rukh Khan, claiming the respectful tone of the conversations disproves any suggestion of pressure or financial demands.
