The Delhi High Court has issued notices to Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, and other parties in response to a defamation suit filed by Sameer Wankhede, a former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer, concerning the web series "The Ba***ds of Bollywood". Wankhede alleges that the series, directed by Aryan Khan and produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, portrays him in a false and malicious light, thereby damaging his reputation and eroding public confidence in anti-drug enforcement agencies.
Wankhede's suit claims that the series misrepresents events tied to the 2021 drugs-on-cruise case, which involved the arrest and subsequent release of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. He argues that the show targets him personally and seeks ₹2 crore in damages, which he intends to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued summons to the defendants, including Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix, X Corp (formerly Twitter), Google LLC, Meta Platforms, RPG Lifestyle Media Private Limited, and a John Doe. The court has directed the defendants to file their replies within seven days and has scheduled the matter for further hearing on October 30, 2025.
While the court did not pass any interim injunction order to take down the alleged defamatory content from several websites at this stage, it has asked the defendants to file their replies on Wankhede's application seeking the content's removal.
Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Wankhede, argued that the territorial jurisdiction lies in Delhi and informed the Court that an application to amend the plaint had been filed. Sethi submitted that the series has led to online harassment of Wankhede's wife and sister. Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar appeared for Netflix, opposing the suit, while Senior Advocate Shyel Trehan represented Red Chillies Entertainment.
Wankhede's plea states that the series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions. He contends that the series was deliberately conceptualized and executed with the intent to malign his reputation in a prejudicial manner, especially with the case involving him and Aryan Khan still pending before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.
