Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed IRS officer Sameer Wankhede to file a defamation suit before the City Civil & Sessions Court, Dindoshi, Mumbai,over his alleged portrayal in the Netflix series “Ba***ds of Bollywood,” directed by Aryan Khan.

Facts:

The order was passed on an application moved by Wankhede. It followed the court’s earlier ruling dated January 29, in which his defamation suit was dismissed on the ground of lack of jurisdiction. At that time, the court had granted him liberty to approach the appropriate court by invoking Order VII Rule 10A of the Code of Civil Procedure.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Wankhede’s counsel, Kunal Vats, informed the court that the plaint would now be presented before the Mumbai court. The submissions were not opposed by counsel appearing for the defendants, including Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix.

Order And Reasoning:

The judge passed a clear order, stating: “In view of the above, the application is allowed. Let the parties appear before the City Civil & Sessions Court, Dindoshi, Mumbai on February 12 on which the plaintiff (Wankhede) proposes to present the plaint.” The court also clarified that this order would operate as summons to the defendants, so the Mumbai court would not need to issue separate notices.

Earlier, Justice Kaurav had held that the Delhi High Court did not have territorial jurisdiction in the matter. He observed that in matters of online defamation, such cases should be filed in courts where the defendants are based or where the alleged damage to reputation takes place.

In his plaint, Wankhede sought injunctions against the production house and others in connection with what he described as a “false, malicious, and defamatory video” in the series. He alleged that the content was deliberately created to damage his reputation while his disputes with Aryan Khan were still sub judice before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court. He also specifically referred to a scene showing a character flashing a middle finger after the chant “Satyamev Jayate.”

Case Detail: SAMEER DNYANDEV WANKHEDE v. RED CHILLIES ENTERTAINMENTS PVT. LTD. & ORS