The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued summons to actor Shah Rukh Khan-owned Red Chillies Entertainment and OTT platform Netflix on a defamation suit filed by Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede for allegedly maligning his reputation in their series The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
Wankhede has sought Rs 2 crore in damages, which he wants donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued a notice to defendants Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix, X Corp (formerly Twitter), Google LLC, Meta Platforms, RPSG Lifestyle Media Private Limited and John Doe in the defamation suit and asked them to file their replies within seven days.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on October 30.
The court, which did not pass any interim injunction order at this stage, asked the defendants to also file their replies on Wankhede's application seeking to take down the alleged defamatory content from several websites.
"Let them take instructions and file a reply. I cannot pass an injunction in general," the judge said.
The plea submitted that the series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.
It said the series has been deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Wankhede's reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner, especially when the case involving the officer and Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is pending and sub judice before the Bombay high court and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Special Court in Mumbai.
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi and lawyer T Singhdev, who represented Wankhede, said they have filed the amended plaint and urged the court to pass an interim injunction order.
The lawyers added that in reference to the web series, 'there are posts trolling me (Wankhede), my wife and sister which are ex facie defamatory. It is shocking. They (defendants) are surely not defending those posts'.
The judge, however, said, "We appreciate that there is a cause in your favour to approach this court but there is a process to be followed."
The suit was opposed by the counsel for Netflix.
The plea 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.
The plea said 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.