The Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected Sameer Wankhede's defamation suit filed against Aryan Khan's show The Ba***ds of Bollywood. The court observed that it has no territorial jurisdiction to hear the plea
Shah Rukh Khan with Aryan Khan; Sameer Wankhede
The Delhi High Court dismissed the defamation case filed by former Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede on Thursday. Sameer had filed a lawsuit against streaming platform Netflix and actor Shah Rukh Khan's production house Red Chillies Entertainment over his portrayal in the series The B***ds of Bollywood directed by SRK's son, Aryan Khan.
Sameer Wankhede's defamation suit rejected
The Delhi High Court, during the hearing, ruled that it has no territorial jurisdiction to hear IRS officer Sameer Wankhede's defamation lawsuit against The Ba***ds of Bollywood series, which is produced by Shah Rukh Khan-owned Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav refused to entertain the lawsuit, saying Wankhede could file his plea before a court having jurisdiction over the issue. "This court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the plaint. The same is, therefore, returned to the plaintiff to be presented, if so advised, before a court of competent jurisdiction," the court noted.
During the hearing today, senior lawyer J Sai Deepak, who represented Wankhede, argued that the defamation suit was maintainable in Delhi. He said in addition to the presence of Wankhede’s relatives in the capital, the case could be heard in Delhi due to the departmental proceedings concerning the former NCB officer were also pending here.
The legal team for Red Chillies Entertainment opposed the plea, and challenged its territorial maintainability. They asserted that the suit should have been filed in Mumbai, not Delhi. The advocate highlighted that Wankhede resides in Mumbai and the production house’s registered office is also located there, which makes Mumbai the appropriate jurisdiction for the case.
About the lawsuit
According to Wankehde, "defamatory content" was created in the web series to settle personal scores with him and avenge the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in a 2021 drugs case.
He said the series, written and directed by Aryan Khan, was orchestrated to target and malign him. Wankhede sued Red Chillies and Netflix for defamation and sought Rs 2 crore in damages, which he wants donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients.
Wankhede, in his lawsuit, claimed that the series depicts a character making an obscene gesture, specifically, showing a middle finger, after the character recites the slogan "Satyamev Jayate", which is part of the National Emblem.
This 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 law, it said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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