High Court asks Sameer Wankhede to explain how defamation case against Aryan Khan's Netflix show is maintainable in Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Friday questioned the maintainability of the defamation suit filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede seeking an injunction and takedown of his portrayal in the Aryan Khan-directed Netflix show 'The Ba***ds of Bollywood'. [Sameer Dnyandev Wankhede Vs. Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. & Ors.].Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked Wankhede how his suit was maintainable in Delhi and whether the cause of action arose in the national capital."It is seen by viewers in Delhi. In so far as the webseries is published for viewing in Delhi, I am defamed," Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi said on behalf of Wankhede.The Court then asked Wankhede to amend his plaint to show that a cause of action was made out in Delhi..In the year 2021, Wankhede, the Zonal Director of Narcotics Control Bureau, had arrested Aryan Khan and others under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at a drug raid in Mumbai. .In his suit, Wankhede has sought damages of ₹2 crore against the show's producer Red Chillies Entertainment - owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan, Netflix, 'X' Corp, Google, Meta and a media outlet RPG Lifestyle Media Pvt. Ltd.As per the suit, there is a scene in the web series involving a man bearing his resemblance and the scene "targets and ridicules" him.Wankhede moved the Court seeking takedown of the defamatory content and injunction to restrain the parties making, publishing, disseminating any further defamatory statements regarding him.He has also sought injunction against John Doe (unknown defendants) creators, presenters, publishers creating related content on the social media platforms. The ex-Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer said that his portrayal in the series was false, malicious and defamatory. According to his suit,"The Defendant No. 1 has purposefully and intentionally crafted a character in defamatory content with the sole intent to connect with the plaintiff, making the character’s actions, speech, and traits strikingly similar to those of the plaintiff. Clearly therefore, this was a conscious and intentional attempt to portray the plaintiff in a negative light, camouflaging their malicious intentions by creating a character that mimics the plaintiff’s persona."As per the plea, the series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.The series is deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner, especially when the case involving him and Aryan Khan is pending and sub-judice before the Bombay High Court and Special NDPS Court in Mumbai, Wankhede told the Court. He further claimed that he has been receiving “intimidatory messages” from unknown individuals on his social media accounts..Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared for Wankhede. Senior Advocates Harish N Salve and Shyel Trehan with advocates Janay Jain, Monisha Mane Bhangale, Bijal Vora, Vidhi Jain, Rohan Poddar, Pranav Sarthi, Apoorva Singh, Ayush Raj, Prachi Dhingra, Utkarsh Vatsa, Udit Bajpai, and Ashutosh Agarwal appeared for Red Chillies. Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar with Advocate Saikrishna Rajagopal appeared for Netflix.