Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav ruled that Delhi courts lacked jurisdiction to hear Wankhede’s plea, returning the plaint and declining to entertain his interim injunction application seeking removal of allegedly defamatory scenes from the series.
New Delhi | January 29, 2026
The Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected a civil suit filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede, challenging his alleged defamatory portrayal in the Netflix series “Ba**ds of Bollywood”*, directed by Aryan Khan and produced by Red Chillies Entertainment.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav declined to entertain the plea on grounds of lack of territorial jurisdiction, and ordered that the plaint be returned to Wankhede to approach the court of competent jurisdiction.
“The plaint is returned to the plaintiff to approach the court of competent jurisdiction. Applications, if any, stand dismissed,” the court said.
Court Examined Two Key Issues
The court had framed two central questions for determination at the interim stage:
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Whether the Delhi High Court had territorial jurisdiction to hear the matter, and
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Whether the impugned depiction, viewed in its entirety, crossed the threshold from protected artistic expression into actionable defamation.
After hearing detailed arguments from both sides, the court concluded that the suit was not maintainable in Delhi, and therefore refrained from examining the merits of the defamation claims.
Arguments by Wankhede
Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak, appearing for Wankhede, argued that the suit was maintainable in Delhi since departmental proceedings involving Wankhede were pending in the capital, and several national media outlets that allegedly published defamatory material against him were also based in Delhi. He further contended that Wankhede’s relatives reside in Delhi, providing an additional jurisdictional link.
Seeking removal of the disputed content, Deepak submitted that each day the content remained accessible online caused irreparable harm to Wankhede’s reputation.
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Defence by Red Chillies and Netflix
Opposing the plea, Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing Red Chillies Entertainment, argued that the Delhi High Court lacked territorial jurisdiction, asserting that the suit ought to have been filed in Mumbai, where both Wankhede resides and the production company is headquartered.
Kaul further submitted that mere online accessibility across India does not automatically confer jurisdiction, and that Wankhede would need to satisfy the legal threshold for defamation.
Netflix, represented by Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar, contended that the bar for granting an interim injunction in defamation cases is extremely high and could not be met at a preliminary stage. He argued that allegations regarding Wankhede, including inquiries and extortion claims, had been in the public domain since 2022, and that the series was a work of satire and dark comedy, which enjoys constitutional protection.
In his plea, Wankhede sought ₹2 crore in damages, stating that the amount would be donated to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer treatment. He also sought a permanent and mandatory injunction against the production house, Netflix, and digital platforms to remove the allegedly defamatory content.
The suit alleged that the series was “deliberately conceptualised and executed” to malign his reputation, especially when legal proceedings involving him and Aryan Khan remain sub judice before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court.
It further objected to a scene showing a character making an obscene gesture after reciting “Satyamev Jayate,” which Wankhede claimed violated the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, and provisions of the Information Technology Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
