Why did Delhi HC issue notice to Shah Rukh Khan in Sameer Wankhede case? All you need to know

Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan has been grabbing headlines – not just for his new Netflix web series ‘The Bads of Bollywood’, but also for the controversy that has erupted over it. On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court issued notices to SRK, Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix and others in connection with a defamation suit filed by IRS officer Sameer Wankhede against Aryan's debut directorial.

An IRS officer and former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai zonal director – Sameer Wankhede – has headed high-profile anti-narcotics investigations, including one involving Aryan Khan in 2021.

Why did he file a lawsuit against the Khans? Why has the Delhi HC issued a summons? Here's all you need to know

What is the defamation case against Aryan Khan?

The ‘Aryan Khan vs Sameer Wankhede case’, which has now got everyone talking, dates back to September 2025. It is mixed with traces of the past, when Aryan Khan's name surfaced in a high-profile drugs case.

On 25 September, Sameer Wankhede filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court against SRK and Gauri Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment Limited, seeking ₹2 crore in damages.

He alleged that Aryan Khan's debut directorial “contained false, malicious, and defamatory content aimed at damaging his reputation”.

In response to the suit, on 8 October, the Delhi HC issued notices to SRK, Netflix and others.

What were Wankhede's claims?

• Wankhede alleged that one particular scene from the “Ba***ds of Bollywood” ‘mocks’ him.

• The lawsuit also questioned a character “making an obscene gesture – specifically, showing a middle finger after the character recites the slogan Satyamev Jayate”.

What does the controversial scene show?

The Bads of Bollywood features a character in its first episode who is reportedly a lookalike of Wankhede.

In the controversial scene, which has since gone viral on social media, the official, who claims to be part of NCG (an alleged jibe at NCB), raids a Bollywood party and arrests an actor on charges of substance abuse.

In the defamation suit, Wankhede also pointed out that the legal case concerning him and “The Ba***ds of Bollywood” director Aryan Khan is still pending before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.

Sameer Wankhede and Aryan Khan

The ‘pending case’ pertaining to an alleged ‘WhatsApp leak’ dates back to October 2023, when the CBI filed a corruption case against the ex-NCB officer.

Referring to the ‘leak’, Wankhede told HT City: “In that writ I had to present some evidence in front of the court. So why will I 'leak' it?”

In May 2023, CNBC TV18 revealed what Shah Rukh Khan allegedly wrote to Wankhede on WhatsApp around 10 days after his son had been arrested. According to the publication, the then NCB officer attached the chats in his petition in a ₹25-crore extortion case against him.

Why was Aryan Khan arrested?

In 2021, Aryan Khan's name surfaced in a high-profile drugs case after the NCB raided a rave party on the Goa-bound Cordelia Empress cruise ship off Mumbai's coast. It involved SRK's son, Arbaaz Merchant and several others.

Aryan was later arrested by the NCB team, led at the time by then zonal director Sameer Wankhede.