Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, his wife Gauri Khan, Red Chillies Entertainment production company, and Netflix have been notified by the Delhi High Court on a defamation suit filed by an NCB Zonal Director, IRS, Sameer Wankhede.
It is the recently published series titled Bads of boll y w o o d, directed by the son of Shah Rukh Khan Aryan Khan, which Wankhede believes attacked his image in a calculated and negative way and has created a negative impression of the law enforcement.Â
It was also found that summons were issued to several other parties such as Meta Platforms, Google LLC, X Corp (previously Twitter), RPG Lifestyle Media Pvt Ltd and unnamed persons identified as John Doe, by the court, which was chaired by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav. Every respondent has been requested to submit his/her responses within seven days. It has been heard on its next occasion on October 30, and the court has not yet awarded any interim relief and injunction on the streaming of the series.
Wankhede in his plea has sought damages in the tune of rupees 2 crores, which he has assured to give out to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital to help in treating cancer patients. In his petition, the Netflix show has been conceptualised and intentionally done to slander his reputation and paint the anti-drug enforcement agencies in India in a bad light. He says that such material threatens to undermine the social confidence of the major law enforcement agencies.
The former NCB officer also objected to a certain scene of the show when one of the characters obscenely gestures following the utterance of, Satyamev Jayate. Wankhede called this a serious affront to the national symbols and a breach of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. He also accused the show of breaching the provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in the sense that the show carries material that will offend the national sentiment due to obscenity and false information.
Wankhede has requested the High Court to direct the accused defamatory material to be removed on all digital platforms and to prohibit the further broadcasting and marketing of the docuseries. His petition is further requesting to be given a statement that states that the material is defamatory in character in the event that it was published with the exclusive intention to attack him at a time when criminal charges of him and Aryan Khan are still active pending in the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.
It also brings back the controversial 2021 drug case on the Mumbai cruise ship, where Aryan Khan, the son of Shah Rukh Khan was arrested by the NCB under the supervision of Wankhede. Even though Aryan Khan was acquitted of all charges later on, the investigation raised a nationwide debate and media attention. In May 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in another case filed against Wankhede accused him of attempting to extort [?]25 crore of Shah Rukh Khan during the probe. Wankhede, however, refuted the allegations and claimed they were politically instigated and produced what he termed personal text messages between him and the actor to validate his innocence.
The High Court has so far requested everyone to present their responses to the allegations made by Wankhede and then make subsequent action. Whether the streaming services and production house will be requested to remove or alter the controversial material will be decided upon at the next hearing on October 30 and whether Wankhede can legally assert his defamation claims.
The controversy has again sparked off debates on the thin line between creative expression and defamation, and the moral obligation of filmmakers in depicting real life issues and government officials.
