In a major blow to IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, the Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to hear his defamation case against Shah Rukh Khan’s company Red Chillies Entertainment. The court clarified that this matter does not fall within its ‘jurisdiction’. Justice Purushendra Kumar Kaurav, while delivering the verdict, said that Wankhede can present this petition before the court which has jurisdiction over the matter. The court said, “It does not fall within the jurisdiction of this Court to hear this suit. It is being returned to the plaintiff so that he can present it before a competent court (like the court in Mumbai).”
Hearing the petition against ‘The Bads of Bollywood’ is outside our jurisdiction.
Sameer Wankhede According to , the ‘defamatory content’ in the web series was inserted with the intention of taking out a personal grudge against him and to avenge the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the 2021 drug trafficking case. Wankhede alleged that this web series written and directed by Aryan Khan was designed to target and defame him.
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Wankhede has filed a defamation suit against Red Chillies and Netflix, demanding damages of Rs 2 crore, which he wants to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients. Wankhede claimed in his suit that “Satyamev Jayate” is part of the national emblem and in the series a character is seen making an obscene gesture after chanting “Satyamev Jayate”.
The petition said that this act is a serious and sensitive violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act, 1971, which attracts punitive action under the law.
Claim of insult to national symbol
Another serious allegation has been made in the lawsuit. According to Wankhede: A character in the series makes an obscene gesture after chanting “Satyamev Jayate”. “Satyamev Jayate” is part of the national emblem, and this act is a serious violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act, 1971. The petition demands punitive action for this.
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the way forward
After the Delhi High Court returned the petition, Sameer Wankhede now has the option to approach the court in Mumbai or any other relevant jurisdiction. It will be interesting to see if they take this legal battle forward.