Sameer Wankhede, an IRS officer, has filed a defamation suit against Aryan Khan's Netflix series, "The Ba***ds of Bollywood," alleging that it maligns his reputation and insults national symbols. Wankhede is seeking ₹2 crore in damages, which he intends to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients' treatment.
The lawsuit, filed in the Delhi High Court, names Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, and other parties as defendants. Red Chillies Entertainment is owned by actors Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, and the series is directed by their son, Aryan Khan. Wankhede's legal action stems from his belief that the series contains "false, malicious, and defamatory" content designed to damage his reputation. He is seeking a permanent and mandatory injunction against the production house and the streaming platform.
Wankhede, who previously headed a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) team, arrested Aryan Khan in the 2021 Cordelia cruise case. The suit contends that "The Ba***ds of Bollywood" was deliberately conceptualized and executed in a prejudicial manner, especially with proceedings related to the case still pending before the Bombay High Court and a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances court.
One of the key objections raised in the suit is a sequence in the series where a character resembling Wankhede raids a party, mirroring the October 2021 cruise raid. Another contentious scene depicts a character reciting the slogan "Satyamev Jayate" before making an obscene gesture. Wankhede argues that this gesture is a grave violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
Wankhede has also alleged violations of the Information Technology Act and provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), claiming the series tarnishes the image of anti-drug enforcement agencies and attempts to hurt national sentiments through obscene material. He argues that the series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.
In October 2022, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) found several irregularities in the investigation of the 2021 Cordelia cruise case and revealed that "selective treatment" was meted out when naming some persons as accused. Aryan Khan was eventually cleared of all charges by the NCB in May 2022 due to a lack of corroborative evidence against him. Following this, Wankhede was transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in Chennai, and a Special Investigation Team was set up to investigate allegations of impropriety in the case by officers of the anti-drug agency.
