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Why Delhi HC won’t hear Sameer Wankhede’s plea against ‘B***ds of Bollywood’

The court said it lacks jurisdiction and returned the complaint to be placed before a court of competent jurisdiction.

Sameer Wankhede recently tore into the film industry for its purported glorification of smoking and the consumption of narcotic substances.IRS officer Sameer Wankhede. (Credit: Facebook/@sameerwankhedencb)

Declaring that it “lacks the jurisdiction”, the Delhi High Court Thursday refused to entertain a defamation suit by IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, over his alleged defamatory portrayal in the Netflix series B***ds of Bollywood, against production house Red Chillies Entertainment and others.

Justice Purushaindra Kaurav, pronouncing the verdict in open court, returned the complaint to be placed before a court of competent jurisdiction. A detailed order is awaited to be made public.

The series, which premiered on September 18 last year on Netflix, marked the directorial debut of Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, and has been produced by Red Chillies Entertainment.

Wankhede, who had arrested Aryan in 2021 while serving as Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), has, in his suit, accused Aryan of a “calculated and vindictive hit job orchestrated to target and malign” him.

The defamation suit was filed against the production company, Netflix, X Corp, Google LLC, Meta Platforms Inc and RPG Lifestyle Media Pvt Ltd among others.

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

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

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In his suit, Wankhede sought an award of damages of Rs 2 crore, to be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for treatment of cancer patients.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

 

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