Is Aryan Khan Facing Legal Issues Again After Sameer Wankhede's Defamation Suit?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Aryan Khan is facing a defamation suit from Sameer Wankhede.
- The lawsuit is based on allegations of false representation in a web series.
- Wankhede claims the series damages the reputation of law enforcement.
- Aryan Khan was previously arrested but received a clean chit.
- The case raises questions about media portrayals of law enforcement.
Mumbai, Sep 25 (NationPress) Aryan Khan, the son of Bollywood's iconic Shah Rukh Khan, finds himself in yet another legal predicament. In a recent turn of events, IRS officer Sameer Wankhede has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, along with the streaming platform Netflix and several other entities.
The complaint was submitted to the Delhi High Court, where Sameer seeks a permanent injunction against the web series and claims damages. This controversy arose after Aryan publicly criticized Sameer, who had detained him during a cruise raid in Mumbai in October 2021 due to alleged drug possession.
Sameer Wankhede contends that the recently aired OTT series ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’, directed by Aryan, contains false, malicious, and defamatory material. He asserts that the portrayal has adversely affected the reputation of anti-drug enforcement agencies, damaging public confidence in law enforcement.
The series includes a segment where a character resembling Sameer conducts a raid at a party, echoing the circumstances of the actual cruise incident from October 2021.
Wankhede claims the web series is intentionally biased against him and points out that the case involving him and Aryan is still active in the Bombay High Court and a special NDPS court in Mumbai.
He further alleges that a character in the series says, 'Satyamev Jayate', only to follow it with an obscene gesture, which he argues is a disrespect to the national emblem and a violation under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
Moreover, the series is claimed to contravene various sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code by potentially offending national sentiments through inappropriate content.
In his legal filing, Sameer Wankhede is seeking damages totaling Rs 2 crore, which he intends to donate to support cancer patients at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
This web series is produced by Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd and is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
On October 2, 2021, the NCB, led by Sameer, executed a raid on a cruise ship off Mumbai, alleging drug possession among attendees. Aryan Khan was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
However, Aryan was later exonerated by the NCB, which stated that there was no substantial evidence linking him to the case, leading to the dismissal of charges. The NDPS court subsequently ordered the return of Aryan's passport following his acquittal.