Former Mumbai zonal director at Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Sameer Wankhede on Saturday avoided a direct response to questions linked to his defamation case against the makers of ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’ series. Addressing the media at a drug awareness camp in Mumbai, Wankhede said to ANI, “I won’t comment on all this. I’ll just say one thing: Satyamev Jayate.”Coincidentally, Wankhede seemed to have repeated a dialogue from the Aryan Khan-directed web series. The drama series had fans and the internet buzzing over an actor bearing a striking resemblance to the former NCB chief. Interestingly, the man in question also says ‘Satyamev Jayate’. Amidst the drama, fans of the series have shared that Aryan’s series included a disclaimer that read, ‘Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.’
About the defamation case
Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd., the production house owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his wife, Gauri Khan.In his suit, Wankhede has sought relief in the nature of a permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration, and damages against the production house, Netflix and others, adding that he has been aggrieved by a false, malicious, and defamatory video in Aryan Khan‘s directorial debut show, ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’.“This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions,” he claimed in his plea.He also claimed that the series has been deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign his reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner, particularly when proceedings involving him and Aryan Khan remain pending before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court, Mumbai.He contended that the portrayal unfairly targets him at a time when the judicial scrutiny is ongoing.
Delhi HC hears lawsuit
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday heard the defamation suit filed by Sameer Wankhede against Netflix, Red Chillies Entertainment (owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan), and others over the series “Ba***ds of Bollywood.”The matter came up before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav. Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared for Wankhede, while Senior Advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi represented Netflix and Red Chillies.At the outset, Justice Kaurav asked Wankhede’s counsel about the cause of action for filing the suit in the national capital.Sethi argued that since the series was meant for audiences across cities, including Delhi, and memes targeting Wankhede were also circulating in the Capital, jurisdiction was made out.
