The legal battle involving IRS officer Sameer Wankhede and the web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood took a new turn on Thursday after the Delhi High Court ruled that it does not have the territorial jurisdiction to hear the defamation suit. The series is produced by Shah Rukh Khan-owned Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd and is written and directed by Aryan Khan.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, while refusing to entertain the plea, stated that Wankhede is free to pursue the matter before a court that has the appropriate jurisdiction. The court’s order made it clear that the plaint would be returned, rather than examined on its merits.
Reacting to the development, Wankhede told HT City that the order should not be seen as a setback. He clarified that the case has not been dismissed outright and emphasised that he has merely been asked to approach the correct legal forum. Calling the decision procedural, Wankhede said he remains determined to continue his fight and will decide his next step after the detailed order is uploaded.
In his suit, Wankhede alleged that the series was designed to malign his image and settle personal scores following Aryan Khan’s arrest in a 2021 drugs-related case. He had filed the defamation plea against Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix, seeking ₹2 crore in damages, which he said would be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
The lawsuit also raised objections to a scene in the series where a character is shown making an obscene gesture after reciting ‘Satyamev Jayate’, an act Wankhede claimed violates the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Despite these allegations, the court maintained that the matter must be taken up before a competent jurisdiction.
