Delhi High Court rejects Sameer Wankhede’s defamation suit over Netflix series

The Delhi High Court on January 29 declined to hear a defamation suit filed by Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede against a Netflix series referencing the Aryan Khan drugs case, ruling that it lacked territorial jurisdiction.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav upheld a preliminary objection raised by the defendants and ordered that the plaint be returned to Wankhede for presentation before a court of competent jurisdiction. The court also granted him liberty to move an application under Order VII Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, should he choose to do so.

With the ruling, the High Court refused to entertain Wankhede’s plea seeking interim relief against Red Chillies Entertainment and streaming platform Netflix. He had sought the removal of certain scenes from the Netflix series The Ba**ds of Bollywood, alleging that Episode 1 contained a character who closely resembled him and damaged his reputation.

The defendants argued that the suit should have been filed in Mumbai, not Delhi. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Red Chillies, and Rajiv Nayyar, representing Netflix, submitted that both Wankhede’s residence and Red Chillies’ registered office are located in Mumbai. They further maintained that the series is a fictional, satirical work set around a Bollywood success party and does not depict the Cordelia cruise raid. Netflix also contended that the fact that the series was created and directed by Aryan Khan did not, by itself, indicate malice or justify judicial intervention.

Opposing the objection, senior advocate Jai Sai Deepak, appearing for Wankhede, argued that Delhi courts had jurisdiction as the alleged reputational harm was felt primarily in the national capital. He cited ongoing departmental proceedings based in Delhi, media interactions following the release of the series in the city, and promotional activities by Netflix and Red Chillies in Delhi.

He also submitted that the actor playing the character had acknowledged portraying Wankhede and that media reports had independently identified the character as him.

The court, however, agreed with the defendants on the question of jurisdiction, effectively closing the defamation case in Delhi while leaving Wankhede free to pursue the matter before an appropriate court elsewhere.