Raghav Juyal (left) and Lakshya in ‘The B***ds of Bollywood’.
| Photo Credit: Netflix
IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, who led the Narcotics Control Bureau’s 2021 raid that resulted in the arrest of actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in a cruise ship drug case, has filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court against the makers of the Netflix series The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
The officer has alleged that the series, directed by Aryan Khan and produced by Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, falsely maligns him and discredits anti-drug enforcement agencies. He has sought ₹2 crore in damages, pledged for donation to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
Aryan Khan was cleared of all charges by the NCB in 2022, which stated that “no drugs had been found on Aryan Khan”.
A statement released by Mr. Wankhede on Thursday said, “This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions.”
It further 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”.
The statement also pointed to a depiction in the series of a character making an obscene gesture – “specifically, showing a middle finger after the character recites the slogan Satyamev Jayate which is part of the National Emblem”. Mr. Wankhede said this act constitutes a violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, attracting penal consequences.
Additionally, the statement alleged that the series contravenes provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as it “seeks to outrage national sentiment through the use of obscene and offensive material”.
Published – September 25, 2025 04:14 pm IST