Former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, who arrested Aryan Khan in a drug-related investigation in 2021, has filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against Netflix and Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd., the makers of Aryan’s show, The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
In the plea, Sameer said that the series shows him in a "false, malicious and defamatory manner". “This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions," Sameer said in his defamation suit, as reported by ANI.
He also claimed that the show has been conceptualised and executed with the aim of maligning his reputation in a “colourable and prejudicial manner” as proceedings between him and Aryan still remain pending before Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court, Mumbai.
Sameer referred to a particular sequence where a character in the show makes an obscene gesture after reciting the phrase, ‘Satyamev Jayate’ and said that it also constitutes a violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
In his suit, Sameer has sought damages of Rs 2 crore from the show’s makers, which will be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients. The plea also seeks court’s direction to restrain the streaming of the show as it harms Sameer’s personal reputation and also undermines faith in anti-drug agencies.
The Ba***ds of Bollywood was released on Netflix on September 18. It earlier came under the radar for a vaping scene involving Ranbir Kapoor. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued notice to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Mumbai police commissioner to action in the matter.
