New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday questioned the maintainability of the defamation suit filed by
In a setback to former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, the Delhi High Court said on Friday that his defamation suit against Shahrukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment for the Aryan Khan-directed web series ‘Ba***ds of Bollywood’ is not maintainable.
A bench of justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav told Wankhede’s lawyer Sandeep Sethi to amend the plea to justify as to why it should be entertained.
“Your plaint is not maintainable here in Delhi. I am rejecting your plaint. Had your case been that you have been defamed at various places including in Delhi and the maximum damage has occurred in Delhi, we would still have considered the matter here in Delhi,” Justice Kaurav said.
The court’s direction came even as Wankhede’s lawyer submitted that the Delhi HC’s jurisdiction was justified since the series had been viewed by viewers in Delhi, and various posts and reactions targeting Wankhede had come from individuals in Delhi.
Though the high court permitted Wankhede to amend his petition, the next date of hearing was not fixed.
“Don’t give the date, the Registry will give the date. You file the application, the Registry will list thereafter,” the bench said.
Wankhede, who made headlines in October 2021 after arresting Shah Rukh’s son Aryan from the Cordelia yacht in the drugs-on-cruise case, sought in his plea directions to Red Chillies Entertainment Limited and Netflix to take down content from Episode 1 of the series.
Wankhede specifically mentioned the timestamp from 32:02 to 33:50, which features a character who closely resembles him in appearance and mannerisms.