Delhi High Court Issues Summons To Netflix, Others In Sameer Wankhede's Defamation Suit Against Series 'Ba***ds of Bollywood'

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (October 8) issued summons in a defamation suit filed by IRS Officer Sameer Wankhede against Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix and others over his allegedly defamatory portrayal in the new Netflix series “Ba***ds of Bollywood” directed by Aryan Khan.Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav also issued notice on the application for interim relief and listed the matter for further consideration on October 30. Appearing for Wankhede, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi referred to the amended plaint and submitted, "In reference to the series, there are posts trolling me, my wife and my sister. Ex facie defamatory. Its shocking. They (defendants) are surely not defending those posts"The court however orally said, "We appreciate that there is cause in your favour to approach this court but there is a process to be followed". The court thereafter issued summons. Senior advocate Rajiv Nayar appearing for Netflix sought to oppose the suit. Meanwhile Senior Advocate Shyel Trehan appeared for Red Chillies Entertainment.In the earlier hearing the Court had questioned Wankhede as to how the suit was maintainable in Delhi and asked him to amend his plaint disclosing appropriate reasons.The suit names the following as defendants: Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix, X Corp (formerly Twitter), Google LLC, Meta Platforms, RPG Lifestyle Media Private Limited and John Doe.Wankhede has sought Rs. 2 crores as damages which will be donated to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of Cancer patients.The suit has been filed seeking permanent and mandatory injunction against the production house and others, against the allegedly “false, malicious, and defamatory video” broadcasted in the series.It is Wankhede's case that the Netflix series has been “deliberately conceptualised and executed” with the intent to malign his 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 the NDPS Special Court.It has also been averred that the series depicts a character making an “obscene gesture”, specifically, “showing a middle finger” after the character recites the slogan “Satyamev Jayate.”This act, as per the suit, 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.The suit further contends that the content of the series is in contravention of various provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as it seeks to outrage national sentiment through the use of obscene and offensive material.Title: SAMEER DNYANDEV WANKHEDE v. RED CHILLIES ENTERTAINMENTS PVT. LTD. & ORS

Delhi High Court Issues Summons To Netflix, Others In Sameer Wankhede's Defamation Suit Against Series 'Ba***ds of Bollywood'

Nupur Thapliyal

Tags