New Delhi: The Delhi high court has allowed IRS officer Sameer Wankhede to shift his defamation lawsuit against the Netflix series “The Ba***ds of Bollywood” to a Mumbai court, citing lack of territorial jurisdiction in Delhi. Justice Vikas Mahajan granted the plea on February 2, directing parties to appear before the City Civil & Sessions Court, Dindoshi, Mumbai on February 12.
Wankhede filed the suit alleging a character in the series — directed by Aryan Khan and produced by Red Chillies Entertainment — defamed him through a portrayal mirroring his role in the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs case, where Aryan Khan was briefly arrested before being cleared. He sought injunctions to remove “false and malicious” content, damages, and restraints on further dissemination, claiming harm to his reputation amid ongoing CBI probes into alleged extortion.
On January 29, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav rejected the Delhi plaint under Order VII Rule 10 CPC, ruling online defamation suits require courts where defendants reside or harm occurs — Mumbai in this case, as Wankhede, Red Chillies, Netflix entities, and alleged wrong all link there. The court invoked the merger rule, returning the plaint for refiling in a competent forum; defendants raised no objection to the transfer application.
On Tuesday, Wankhede’s counsel Kunal Vats confirmed intent to present before Dindoshi court; Justice Mahajan treated the order as summons, waiving separate notices. Red Chillies had countered the suit as satire/parody protected speech, citing Wankhede’s prior public scrutiny.
