‘Intent to malign reputation’: Sameer Wankhede moves Delhi High Court against Aryan Khan’s ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’

Wankhede, who shot to limelight when he arrested Aryan Khan in 2021 while serving as Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), filed the suit against the production company, Netflix, X Corp, Google LLC, Meta Platforms Inc, RPG Lifestyle Media Pvt Ltd, and John Does.

Wankhede has claimed that the series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.

It is learnt that the suit alleges the series has been “deliberately conceptualised” and executed with the intent to malign Wankhede’s reputation in a “colourable and prejudicial manner”.

Wankhede has also objected to references made in the series to Aryan’s NCB case, highlighting that it is pending and sub-judice before the Bombay High Court and the Special Court dealing with cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Mumbai.

Wankhede has also taken objection to a character in the series making an obscene gesture — specifically, showing a middle finger after the character says Satyamev Jayate, which is a part of the National Emblem. He submitted that this constitutes a “grave and sensitive violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.”

Wankhede is seeking an award of damages of Rs 2 crore, to be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients.