Former Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede recently reacted to a question on the defamation case he has filed against the makers of The Ba***ds of Bollywood series.
In a video, posted by ANI, Sameer on Saturday was speaking about the rising problem of drug abuse in Mumbai. “Especially in Northern or Eastern Mumbai, we need to create awareness in public about the kind of drugs that exist and the rise in drug consumption in the city. A camp was organised here to talk to parents, and I’m very happy that I came here to talk about the legal provisions,” he was seen as saying.
When a reporter asked him about the defamation case, the IRS officer refused to comment. “I don’t want to comment on this. All I’m going to say is, satyamev jayate (truth alone triumphs).” Interestingly, a character from Aryan Khan’s show, which Sameer claimed was based on him, also says the dialogue “satyamev jayate”, after which another character shows him the middle finger.
Previously, Sameer, who arrested Aryan in a drug-related investigation in 2021, had filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against 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 had said in his defamation suit, as reported by ANI. He had filed the suit against Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, X Corp, Google LLC, Meta Platforms Inc, RPG Lifestyle Media Pvt Ltd, and John Does. He had also sought an award of damages of Rs 2 crore, to be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients.
However, the Delhi High Court on Friday had questioned the maintainability of the case. Justice Purushaindra Kaurav observed, “Your plaint is not maintainable. I am rejecting your plaint. Had your case been that you were defamed at various places, including Delhi, and that maximum damage occurred here, we would have still considered it.”
