The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that it lacks the territorial jurisdiction to hear IRS officer Sameer Wankhede’s defamation lawsuit against the web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood, produced by Shah Rukh Khan-owned Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd. Refusing to entertain the plea, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav stated that Wankhede could present his case before a court with competent jurisdiction.
When HT City reaches out to Sameer for a reaction, he reiterates the same, nullifying the belief otherwise that the case altogether has been dismissed, “It has not been dismissed. I have been asked to approach a proper forum. Let the order be uploaded, then I will take a call on when to do it. This has not demotivated me at all, it’s just an order to approach the appropriate court. I will do the needful and keep fighting for justice.”
According to Wankhede in the suit, the series, written and directed by Aryan Khan, was orchestrated to target and malign him, allegedly settling personal scores following Aryan’s 2021 arrest in a drugs case. The IRS officer sued Red Chillies and Netflix for defamation, seeking ₹2 crore in damages, which he intended to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
{{/usCountry}}According to Wankhede in the suit, the series, written and directed by Aryan Khan, was orchestrated to target and malign him, allegedly settling personal scores following Aryan’s 2021 arrest in a drugs case. The IRS officer sued Red Chillies and Netflix for defamation, seeking ₹2 crore in damages, which he intended to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
{{/usCountry}}Wankhede’s lawsuit further claimed the series features a character making an obscene gesture after reciting ‘Satyamev Jayate’ He alleged this act is a grave violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Despite these allegations, the court maintained that the plaint must be returned due to lack of jurisdiction.