The counsel for IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, in a defamation suit relating to Aryan Khan’s debut web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood, told the Delhi High Court on Monday that the makers of the web series were hiding behind a disclaimer, and their defense of satire was not absolute.
Wankhede has filed a defamation suit against Red Chillies and Netflix for allegedly maligning his reputation in their series, seeking 2 crore in damages, which he wants to be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients.
Sameer Wankhede’s counsel argues web series is ‘sly’
During the proceedings on Monday, Wankhede’s counsel said that the makers of the web series were hiding behind a disclaimer and had taken a “sly approach.” “Disclaimer is of no consequence. The proof of pudding is how people consume it,” the advocate said.
“The defense of satire is not absolute. You have taken potshots at me in my professional capacity,” he added. The counsel stated that the spoof and innuendos directed at the officer were made with malice and a vendetta. “This is vendetta passing off as fiction,” Wankhede’s counsel said.
The court then posed questions about artistic freedom to the production house. The arguments by Red Chillies are scheduled to commence on November 17.
Sameer Wankhede’s plea against makers of The Ba***ds of Bollywood
In interim relief, Wankhede has sought the removal of the alleged defamatory content from several websites. His plea states that the series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.
Wankhede said the series has been deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign his reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner, especially when the case involving the officer and Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is pending and sub judice before the Bombay High Court and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Special Court in Mumbai.
On October 8, the high court issued notices and summons to the defendants, including Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix,
In the last hearing, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav granted time to Wankhede, Shah Rukh Khan-owned Red Chillies Entertainment, and OTT platform Netflix to file their written submissions.
