Aryan Khan lands in legal trouble again as Sameer Wankhede files defamation suit

Mumbai: Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, has once again landed into troubled waters. In a new development, the IRS officer Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owned by actors Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, the streaming giant Netflix and other parties.

The lawsuit has been filed in the Delhi High Court. In his petition, Sameer has sought a permanent injunction against the web series and damages. The issue has emerged after Aryan took a dig at Sameer, who detained him from a cruise in Mumbai in October 2021 over the alleged possession of narcotics.

Sameer Wankhede has alleged that the recently released OTT series ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’, directed by Aryan, has shown false, malicious and defamatory content. He also alleged that the image of anti-drug enforcement agencies has been tarnished and shown negatively, thereby undermining public trust in law enforcement agencies.

The series features a sequence where a drug enforcement agency officer, bearing striking resemblance to Sameer, raids a party, similar to how the latter raided a cruise party in the October of 2021.

Sameer Wankhede has claimed that the webseries has deliberately biased and defamatory content against him. He also alleged that the Sameer Wankhede and Aryan Khan case is currently pending in the Bombay High Court and a special NDPS court in Mumbai.

He alleged that a character in the web series is shown saying, “Satyamev Jayate” and immediately after that the character is seen making an obscene gesture. It is an insult to the slogan which is part of the national emblem and is an offence punishable under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

It has also been alleged that the content of the series violates various sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code as it attempts to hurt national sentiments by using obscene and objectionable content.

In his suit, Sameer Wankhede has sought damages of Rs 2 crore, which he proposes to donate for the treatment of cancer patients at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.

The series is produced by Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, and is available to stream on Netflix.

On 2 October 2021, the NCB, headed by Sameer, had raided a cruise ship off Mumbai during a party and alleged possession of drugs among some attendees. Aryan Khan, along with others, was arrested on charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

However, Aryan received a clean chit from the NCB, as the agency stated that no material evidence was found to connect him to the case, leading to the dropping of charges against him. The NDPS court had also asked Aryan’s passport to be given back to him after he was given the clean chit.

IANS