Sameer Wankhede calls The Ba***ds of Bollywood 'vendetta,' alleges defamation

Indian Revenue Service IRS officer and former NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Dnyandev Wankhede has filed a rejoinder before the Delhi High Court accusing Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd the Shah Rukh Khan owned production house of producing and circulating false malicious and defamatory content through its Netflix web series The Bads of BollywoodWankhede contended that the web series is not a work of fiction but a personal vendetta disguised as satire orchestrated to malign his reputation following the 2021 Cordelia Cruise drug case involving Shah Rukh Khans son Aryan KhanIn the rejoinder Wankhede alleged that the character of a government officer depicted in the series was deliberately modelled on him citing striking resemblances in appearance speech and the use of his trademark phrase Satyamev Jayate He said the scene amounted to a premeditated targeted campaign intended to ridicule and destroy his reputationThe series is not satire but a calculated hit job designed to settle personal scores the rejoinder stated adding that the content mocked not only the officer but also the national motto Satyamev JayateWankhede asserted that the content has caused him public humiliation leading to a wave of online ridicule against him and his family My wife and sister are being subjected to offensive and distasteful messages he said terming the damage to his reputation irreparableThe rejoinder further accused the company of revenge and commercial greed asserting that the defendants cannot hide behind the convenient veil of satire or artistic expression to justify a malicious actWankhede argued that his right to reputation protected under Article 21 of the Constitution has been violated and urged the court to restrain the streaming and promotion of the allegedly defamatory scenes until the defamation suit is decidedIn its reply affidavit Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd had opposed Wankhedes injunction plea describing the defamation suit as wholly misconceived untenable in law and devoid of meritThe reply states that The Bads of Bollywood is a situational satire that does not name or depict Wankhede and contains no defamatory materialAt the threshold the company challenged the maintainability of the suit contending that the Delhi High Court lacks territorial jurisdiction since both Wankhede and the principal defendants including Netflix are based in Mumbai It said the jurisdictional defect at inception renders the proceedings a nullity which cannot be cured through later amendments to the plaintThe production house also questioned Wankhedes claim of an unblemished service record referring to the CBI FIR registered in May 2023 for alleged extortion and corruptionThe existence of the FIR and the necessity for interim protection undermine the plaintiffs claim of an unblemished reputation the company submitted further asserting that Wankhede was already the subject of public ridicule and adverse commentary even before the series was releasedRed Chillies maintained that the series is a creative and humorous commentary on the film industry tackling themes like nepotism paparazzi culture and celebrity controversies using humour and parody protected under Article 191a of the Constitution It stated that the brief sequence objected to by Wankhede lasting just one minute and fortyeight seconds merely portrays an overzealous officer and carries no defamatory referenceSatire allows the satirist to criticise in the harshest of terms Whether the comment is satirical or malicious can only be determined at trial the reply statedArguing that Wankhede as a public servant must tolerate public scrutiny Red Chillies stated Those who fill public positions must not be too thinskinned A person whose conduct has been the subject of official inquiry cannot claim special protection from fair comment or satireCalling Wankhedes plea an attempt to stifle legitimate artistic expression the production house said that removing the impugned scene would distort the narrative flow of the series which has been streaming on Netflix since September 18 2025On Thursday the Delhi High Court directed all parties to file written submissions and listed the matter for further hearing on November 10 before Justice Purushaindra Kumar KauravOn the previous date the court had issued notice to Netflix Red Chillies and others on Wankhedes plea seeking a permanent injunction and Rs 2 crore in damages for alleged defamationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever