Earlier, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav had held that the Delhi High Court was not the proper forum to hear the case and granted Wankhede the liberty to approach a court with appropriate jurisdiction.
The Court noted that the main contesting defendants, Red Chillies Entertainment, are based in Mumbai, the plaintiff Sameer Wankhede is also a Mumbai resident, and the alleged cause of action, as stated in the plaint, arose in Mumbai. In view of this, the Court held that the “Merger Rule of Tejpal” applied in full force and that only courts in Mumbai had the jurisdiction to entertain the suit. Accordingly, the Delhi High Court held that it lacked jurisdiction and returned the plaint to Wankhede, granting him liberty to present it before a court of competent jurisdiction.
Following this, Wankhede today filed an application under Order VII Rule 10A of the Civil Procedure Code, which empowers a court returning a plaint to fix a date for the plaintiff’s appearance before the appropriate court where the case is to be refiled.
In 2021, Wankhede, who was then the Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), had arrested Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, under the NDPS Act after a drug raid in Mumbai. Aryan Khan was later given a clean chit.
In his defamation suit, Wankhede alleged that a scene in the Netflix series ‘Ba**ds of Bollywood’* depicts a character resembling him and portrays the character in a mocking and derogatory manner.
He sought damages of ₹2 crore from the show’s producer, Red Chillies Entertainment—owned by Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan—and from Netflix. He also sought directions for the removal of the allegedly defamatory content and an injunction restraining the publication or circulation of any further defamatory material against him.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had issued summons to Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, Google, X Corp, and Meta, seeking their replies to the suit.
In its written response, Red Chillies Entertainment contended that Wankhede’s reputation had already been subject to public criticism and ridicule even before the release of the series. It referred to proceedings initiated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Wankhede for alleged criminal conspiracy and extortion under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Red Chillies further argued that the series is a work of satire and parody, which is a protected form of expression and does not amount to defamation.