"I'll just say 'Satyamev Jayate": Former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede on 'Ba***ds of Bollywood' defamation case

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 27 (ANI): Former Mumbai zonal director at Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Sameer Wankhede on Saturday avoided a direct response to questions linked to the ‘Ba***ds of Bollywood’ series and said he would not answer on these issues.

Speaking to ANI here at a drug awareness camp, the former NCB director said, “I won’t comment on all this. I’ll just say one thing: Satyamev Jayate.”

Wankhede highlighted the growing concerns of drug consumption in Northern and Eastern Mumbai. He stressed the importance of “public awareness” and “community participation” to tackle the issue.

“In our Mumbai area, the issues of drug consumption, and especially in Northern Mumbai or Eastern Mumbai, we need to create awareness among the public about what types of drugs exist. What are the legal provisions for that?” Wankhede said.

The former NCB officer said he was satisfied with the interaction at the awareness camp. “A camp was organised here to talk to parents, and I’m very happy that I came here and talked to the children, mothers, religious leaders, and tried to explain to them the legal provisions to the best of my ability,” he added.

Samajwadi Party leader organised an anti-drug programme in Mumbai’s Govandi area, where Sameer Wankhede was the chief guest.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday heard the defamation suit filed by Sameer Wankhede against Netflix, Red Chillies Entertainment (owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan), and others over the series “Ba***ds of Bollywood.”

The matter came up before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav. Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared for Wankhede, while Senior Advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi represented Netflix and Red Chillies.

At the outset, Justice Kaurav asked Wankhede’s counsel about the cause of action for filing the suit in the national capital.

Sethi argued that since the series was meant for audiences across cities, including Delhi, and memes targeting Wankhede were also circulating in the Capital, jurisdiction was made out.

Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd., the production house owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his wife, Gauri Khan.

In his suit, Wankhede has sought relief in the nature of a permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration, and damages against the production house, Netflix and others, adding that he has been aggrieved by a false, malicious, and defamatory video in Aryan Khan’s directorial debut show, ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’.

“This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions,” he claimed in his plea.

He also claimed that the series has been deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner, particularly when proceedings involving him and Aryan Khan remain pending before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court, Mumbai.

He contended that the portrayal unfairly targets him at a time when the judicial scrutiny is ongoing. (ANI)

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