Delhi HC summons Netflix, Red Chillies in Sameer Wankhede defamation case
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The Delhi High Court has issued summons to Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited and others in a civil defamation suit filed by former Mumbai Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Sameer Wankhede.
The company is owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued the summons on Wankhede’s plea against Red Chillies Entertainment and other respondents. The court directed them to file their replies within seven days. Wankhede has been asked to submit his rejoinder within three days after receiving the replies.
The court has also instructed the petitioner to serve a copy of the petition to all defendants.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 30.
However, the High Court refused to grant immediate relief to Wankhede and asked him to return after ten days.
The defamation case pertains to the Netflix series The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
Earlier, on September 26, the court heard the matter involving Netflix, Red Chillies Entertainment, and others. Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi represented Wankhede, while Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar appeared for some of the defendants.
During the previous hearing, the court asked Wankhede’s counsel about the reason for filing the suit in Delhi. Sethi argued that the series was meant for audiences across cities, including Delhi, and that memes targeting Wankhede were also circulating in the capital, thus establishing jurisdiction.
The court, however, expressed doubt over the argument. Justice Kaurav observed that the plaint was not maintainable and said it was being rejected. He added that if the case had stated the plaintiff was defamed in various places, including Delhi, and that the maximum damage occurred there, the court might have considered it.
Referring to Section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), the judge noted that the plaint did not clearly explain how the civil suit would lie in Delhi, especially in paragraphs 37 and 38. On Sethi’s request for time to amend the plaint, the judge had said, “I am not giving any date. The Registry will give the date once the application is listed.”