Ex-narcotics officer, IRS officer Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against Red Chillies Entertainment, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, along with Netflix and other parties.

The suit seeks relief in the form of a permanent and mandatory injunction, a declaration, and damages over what Wankhede alleges is a “false, malicious, and defamatory” portrayal in the Netflix series "Ba***ds of Bollywood." The officer has claimed damages amounting to Rs 2 crore, which he has proposed to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients.

As per the petition, the series, produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and streamed on Netflix, presents a distorted and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, potentially eroding public trust in law enforcement institutions.

Wankhede, who previously headed high-profile narcotics investigations including the one involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, alleges that the series was deliberately conceptualised and produced to malign his personal and professional reputation.

He also points out that the legal case concerning him and Aryan Khan is still pending before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai, and thus, the portrayal is both prejudicial and irresponsible.

The petition further raises objections to a particular scene in which a character is shown making an obscene gesture, raising the middle finger, immediately after uttering the national slogan “Satyamev Jayate,” which is part of India’s National Emblem. Wankhede contends that this act constitutes a serious violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, and is punishable under Indian law.

In addition, Wankhede alleges that the content violates several provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), on the grounds that it contains obscene, offensive material intended to provoke and outrage national sentiment.

Source: India Today