The Delhi High Court has issued a notice on an application for interim relief in a defamation lawsuit filed by IRS officer and former NCB official Sameer Wankhede against Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, and Aryan Khan over their web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood. The matter is next scheduled for hearing on October 30.
‘Posts Trolling My Family’: Sameer Wankhede
During the hearing, Sameer Wankhede’s counsel, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, informed the court that the series had resulted in online trolling targeting Wankhede, his wife, and his sister, describing the content as “ex facie defamatory” and “shocking”. Sethi argued that the defendants, Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan Khan, and Red Chillies, were not defending the posts that he claims are damaging and defamatory.
The court orally observed, “We appreciate that there is cause in your favour to approach this court but there is a process to be followed,” and noted that a proper procedure must be adhered to in such matters.
Next Hearing On October 30
Wankhede’s lawyer also stated that an application to amend the plaint had been filed and asserted the case rightly fell within the Delhi High Court’s jurisdiction.
The suit seeks a permanent and mandatory injunction against the production house and others, as well as Rs 2 crore in damages, which Wankhede has stated will be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients. The case will continue with its next hearing on October 30.
The Defamation Suit
On September 25 this year, Sameer Wankhede filed a defamation suit and sought Rs 2 crore in damages from Shah Rukh Khan and Red Chillies Entertainment, his company and the producer of The Ba***ds of Bollywood. Wankhede claims to donate the 2 crore in damages to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for treatment of cancer patients.
In his statement, Sameer Wankhede claimed that The Ba***ds of Bollywood has been “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner.”
Wankhede’s statement further read, “Especially when the case involving Sameer Wankhede and Aryan khan is pending and sub-judice before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court, Mumbai.”
“Furthermore, the series, inter alia, depicts a character making an obscene gesture–specifically, showing a middle finger after the character recites the slogan “Satyamev Jayate” which is the part of the National Emblem. This act constitutes a grave and sensitive violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which attracts penal consequences under law,” it read.
“In addition, the content of the series is in contravention of various provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as it seeks to outrage national sentiment through the use of obscene and offensive material,” said Wankhede in his statement.
What The Ba***ds Of Bollywood Showed
Sameer Wankhede’s defamation suit against The Ba***ds of Bollywood is directed at the first episode of the series. In the episode, a character, apparently heavily inspired by Sameer Wankhede, lands up outside a Bollywood party, looking for people from “Bollywood”, “who are doing drugs”.
aryan khan literally played here by casting sameer wankhede lookalike in the bads of bollywood isn’t it..😭 pic.twitter.com/gVsr811Tus
— Roj Roj Ke Kalesh (@RojRojKeKalesh) September 18, 2025
Since September 18, when the series began streaming on Netflix, social media has drawn several parallels between Sameer Wankhede and the sequence in Episode 1.
The Sameer Wankhede cameo in the Bads*** of Bollywood Is too good lol.
Iykyk#Badsofbollywood #AryanKhan #ShahRukhKhan𓀠 pic.twitter.com/05PTrvTEsy— PSG24 (@DOCPSG24) September 18, 2025
Why The Dig Against Sameer Wankhede
On October 3, 2021, Aryan Khan, Ayaaz Merchant, and Munmun Dhamecha were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau, and charged with possession, consumption, and sale/purchase of banned drugs. Ex-Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede led the investigation.
The arrest of Aryan Khan, Ayaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha was a day after the NCB raided a cruise ship and claimed to have seized banned drugs. Twenty people had been arrested in the case.
Sameer Wankhede came into the spotlight after arresting Aryan. Aryan Khan spent 25 days in jail before he was granted bail.