The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (October 8, 2025) issued notice to Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix and others on a defamation suit filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede in a defamation suit filed against the makers of the series “Ba***ds of Bollywood”.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued summons to defendants which include the owners of Red Chillies, X, Google, Meta Platforms, and asked them to file their replies within seven days. It posted the matter for further hearing on October 30, 2025.

The Court, however, did not pass any interim order at this stage on Mr. Wankhede’s application seeking to take down the several alleged defamatory contents from several websites and social media platforms.

“It could have wider ramifications,” the Court remarked as senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, Mr. Wankhede’s lawyer, urged that people are “trolling” his client online with reference to this series.

“The nature of the accusation being made is shocking,” Mr. Sethi said.

The Judge noted that “there is cause in your favour to approach the court, but there are some processes which we need to follow”.

The IRS officer, who led the Narcotics Control Bureau’s 2021 raid that saw actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan arrested in a cruise ship drug case, claims the series directed by Aryan Khan, produced by Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan–owned Red Chillies and streamed on Netflix, falsely maligns him and discredits anti-drug enforcement agencies. He has sought ₹2 crore in damages and pledged to donate to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.

Aryan Khan was cleared of all charges by the NCB later in 2022 in the cruise ship drug case, saying “no drugs had been found on Aryan Khan”.

Mr. Wankhede’s plea said, “This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.”

It added, “The series has been deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner”.

“Furthermore, the series, inter alia, depicts a character making an obscene gesture—specifically, showing a middle finger after the character recites the slogan “Satyamev Jayate” which is the part of the National Emblem. This act constitutes a grave and sensitive violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which attracts penal consequences under law,” it added.

Additionally the plea stated that the content of the series is in contravention of various provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as it seeks to outrage national sentiment through the use of obscene and offensive material.