Sameer Wankhede steps up legal battle against Bollywood, approaches Mumbai court

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed former Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede to pursue his defamation case against the Netflix series The Bads of Bollywood* before a Mumbai court**, after ruling that it lacks territorial jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Justice Vikas Mahajan, while hearing Wankhede’s plea under the Civil Procedure Code, observed that the Delhi High Court was not the appropriate forum for the case. The court granted Wankhede liberty to present his plaint before the City Civil and Sessions Court, Dindoshi, Mumbai, and directed both parties to appear there on February 12.

The order comes shortly after the Delhi High Court declined to grant relief in Wankhede’s plea against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd and Netflix, over his alleged defamatory portrayal in the web series.

Allegations by Sameer Wankhede

Wankhede has filed a defamation suit seeking an injunction and removal of certain scenes from the series, claiming they ridicule and tarnish his image. The former NCB officer, who led the 2021 Mumbai cruise drug case involving Aryan Khan, was later cleared of all allegations.

In his petition, Wankhede alleged that one of the characters in the series closely resembles him and is portrayed in a derogatory manner. He has sought ₹2 crore in damages from Red Chillies Entertainment—owned by Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan—and from Netflix, along with a restraint on further dissemination of the allegedly defamatory content.

About The Ba**ds of Bollywood*

The Ba**ds of Bollywood* marks the directorial debut of Aryan Khan. The series stars Bobby Deol, Lakshya, Sahher Bambba, Manoj Pahwa, Mona Singh, Manish Chaudhari, Raghav Juyal, Anya Singh, Vijayant Kohli, Rajat Bedi and Gautami Kapoor.

The show follows Aasmaan Singh (Lakshya), an ambitious outsider navigating the glamour and cutthroat realities of the Hindi film industry. Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, the series blends humour and drama in a self-referential narrative and is described by Netflix as “the baddest, filmiest show on Earth.”