New Delhi: IRS officer and former NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede today filed a defamation case in the Delhi High Court against Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix, owned by actors Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, for allegedly tarnishing his image in the web series Bollywood's Bastards.
Wankhede's petition has sought permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration and damages against Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix and others. He has alleged that it is a 'false, malicious and defamatory video' of the production house and has been aired by Netflix as part of a television series.
Wankhede has sought a compensation of Rs 2 crore, which he wants to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients.
Advocate Aditya Giri, one of the lawyers representing Wankhede, claimed, “This web series propagates a misleading and negative portrayal of the anti-drug agencies, which reduces the faith of the people in law enforcement institutions.”
The petition states that the series has been deliberately aired with the intention of tarnishing the image of Wankhede in a colorful and biased manner, especially when the case involving the officer and Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is pending and in court before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.
It has been claimed that a character in the series is depicted making obscene gestures, specifically, showing the middle finger, which is part of the national emblem, after the character chants the slogan ‘Satyamev Jayate’. The petition said that this action is a serious and sensitive violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which is a punishable offence under the law.
The petition said that the content of the series is in violation of various provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code as it attempts to provoke national sentiments through the use of obscene and offensive content.