Former Narcotics Control Bureau Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court, claiming that the Netflix series The Ba***ds of Bollywood portrays him in a defamatory manner, Live Law reported.

Wankhede has named production house Red Chillies Entertainment and its co-founder Gauri Khan in the suit. The series The Ba***ds of Bollywood has been directed by Aryan Khan, the son of Gauri Khan and actor Shah Rukh Khan.

The Indian Revenue Service officer has sought Rs 2 crore in damages, which he said would be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in Mumbai.

Wankhede headed a Narcotics Control Bureau team that had arrested Aryan Khan in the 2021 Cordelia cruise case.

In his suit, Wankhede has claimed that the series was “deliberately conceptualised and executed” to malign his reputation “in a colourable and prejudicial manner”, even as proceedings related to the matter are pending before the Bombay High Court and a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances court.

The suit also objected to a scene in which a character makes an obscene gesture after reciting the slogan “Satyamev Jayate”.

Wankhede contended that the gesture was a grave violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

Wankhede alleged that the series also violated provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita by attempting to outrage national sentiment through offensive material.

The 2021 Cordelia cruise case

On October 2, 2021, Aryan Khan was arrested along with his friend Arbaaz Merchant, model Munmun Dhamecha and others after a raid on Cordelia cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai.

The agency had claimed to recover several narcotic substances from the ship.

On October 28, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Aryan Khan and others, noting that he was not found in possession of drugs and that there was no evidence of a conspiracy.

In May 2022, the Narcotics Control Bureau cleared Khan of charges in the case as it did not find corroborative evidence against him.

Soon after, Wankhede was transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in Chennai.

A Special Investigation Team was also set up to look into allegations of impropriety in the case by officers of the anti-drug agency. In October 2022, the Special Investigation Team said it has found several irregularities in the investigation and also revealed that “selective treatment” was meted out when naming some persons as accused in the case.

Also read: ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’ review: Scattershot satire has its share of amusing moments

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