How suing Aryan Khan, SRK for The Ba***ds of Bollywood in Delhi hurt Sameer Wankhede's case: Why HC rejected complaint

The Delhi High Court on Friday ruled that Sameer Wankhede's complaint against Aryan Khan's show, The Ba***ds of Bollywood, was not maintainable.

Former NCB official Sameer Wankhede's defamation complaint against filmmaker Aryan Khan and his father, actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan, was rejected by the Delhi High Court on Friday. Wankhede had alleged that Aryan had defamed him in his debut web series, The Ba***ds of Bollywood, which is streaming on Netflix. However, the court reasoned that since the cause of action was not made out in Delhi, his complaint was not maintainable.

Sameer Wankhede had sued Aryan Khan for his show The Ba***ds of Bollywood.

Court rejects Sameer Wankhede's suit against Aryan Khan

Wankhede's matter was heard by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav at the Delhi High Court on Friday. Appearing for the IRS official, his lawyer Sandeep Sethi said that the web series is meant for across cities, including Delhi. Memes are against Wankhede by people in Delhi, which is why they filed the suit in the Delhi High Court.

However, the judge responded that the complaint was not maintainable. According to Live Law, the court said, "I am rejecting your plaint. Had your case been that look, I've been defamed at various places, including Delhi, and the maximum damage is in Delhi, we would have still considered it here."

Court asks Wankhede to amend his suit

The court said that, having considered Section 9 of CPC, the plaintiff has not properly made averments as to how the civil suit would lie in Delhi. When Wankhede's lawyer asked for time to make necessary amendments, the court asked them to amend their suit, but did not give any date. "The Registry will give the date once the application is listed," the court ruled.

What was Wankhede's complaint

In his suit, Wankhede had alleged that the show The Ba***ds of Bollywood has modelled a character after him and portrayed him in a defamatory manner. "This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions," the suit claimed. Wankhede has also pointed to a later instance in the same scene where a narcotics cop sits in his van and says 'Satyamev Jayate', to which another character first gives him a thumbs up, before changing it to a middle finger salute (a gesture showing disrespect or condemnation). The suit asserted that the act constitutes a grave and sensitive violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which attracts penal consequences under the law.

Sameer Wankhede was the officer who had arrested Aryan Khan in a drug case in 2021 off the coast of Mumbai. Investigation had later given Aryan a clean chit in the case.