New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has dismissed the defamation suit filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede over his alleged portrayal in the Netflix series ‘The Ba**ads of Bollywood’, which references the Aryan Khan case, holding that it lacks territorial jurisdiction to try the plaintiff.
Judge Purushindra Kumar Kaurav passed this order upholding the preliminary objection of the defendants. The Court directed that the plaint be returned to the plaintiff Wankhede for presentation before a court of competent jurisdiction. It also gave liberty to the plaintiff to apply under Order VII Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, if he so wished.
With this decision, the High Court refused to consider Wankhede’s defamation claim.
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Wankhede had approached the court seeking interim directions against Shah Rukh Khan’s production house Red Chillies Entertainment and OTT platform Netflix, including removal of certain scenes from the series, alleging that they were defamatory and damaged his reputation.
The suit relates to Episode 1 of the series, which featured a character whom Wankhede claimed was very similar to him in appearance, demeanor and behaviour.
Opposing the petition, Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix argued that the Delhi High Court lacks territorial jurisdiction, arguing that the trial should have been initiated in Mumbai. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Red Chillies, and Rajeev Nayyar, appearing for Netflix, said both Wankhede’s residence and the registered office of Red Chillies are located in Mumbai.
The defendants further argued that the series is a fictional and satirical work set during a Bollywood success party and does not depict the Cordelia Cruz raid. Netflix also said that the mere fact that the series was created and directed by Aryan Khan does not establish malafide or warrant judicial intervention.
Senior advocate Jai Sai Deepak, appearing for Wankhede, argued that the suit was maintainable in Delhi as the alleged defamatory impact was felt primarily in the national capital. He submitted that the departmental proceedings involving Wankhede are based in Delhi, several media interactions following the release of the series took place in the city, and both Netflix and Red Chillies conducted substantial promotional activities in Delhi.
Deepak also argued that the actor portraying the character has admitted to representing Wankhede and that media reports have independently identified the character as him, thereby portraying him negatively.