Former Mumbai NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, on October 11, spoke about the defamation case he has filed against Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix. While speaking to news agency ANI, the former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer claimed that his family has been receiving hate messages from Pakistan, the UAE, and Bangladesh.

Wankhede said that his family has nothing to do with his profession or the case and asked, “Why are they feeling the brunt of these kinds of things?”

In addition, he also informed reporters that his sister and wife have been receiving threats. “Hate messages are coming from Pakistan, the UAE, and Bangladesh. I will not accept that because of me, they are facing the brunt of it,” he said.

He further added, “We have regularly informed the police about the threats that my sister and wife keep getting.”

Wankhede also said that he filed the case as it was about his self-respect, personal dignity, and honour, stating, “Whatever satire or parody you create, do it with your own people.”

He added that he would fight the legal battle as far as possible, saying, “I am a loyal soldier of the Government of India. There are numerous checks and balances in our system, and there is a proper rule book — the Constitution — according to which we work. One person does not make the decisions here. Everything has been done according to the rules and regulations. It is not about any publicity; it is about dignity. The kind of hate messages I have been getting, no self-respecting man will remain silent on it. I will fight this legal battle to whatever extent possible.”

Calling drug abuse a major issue for the nation, he further said, “By highlighting such things, you’re insulting not just one person but those who have worked with me, and others who fight against drug abuse.”

The case pertains to Aryan Khan’s web series, ‘The Ba**ds of Bollywood’*. The former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer has claimed that a character in the series bears a striking resemblance to him and has alleged that the show was “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign his reputation.”

Wankhede has filed a ₹2 crore defamation case against Aryan Khan, Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd (owned by Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan), and Netflix.

After filing the ₹2 crore defamation case, Wankhede told PTI, “I don’t want to comment on this. I will just say one thing — Satyamev Jayate (Truth alone triumphs).”

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday reserved its order on a plea filed by Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty seeking protection of his personality rights and an injunction against unauthorised use of his name, image, and likeness on social media and various websites.

A single-judge bench of Justice Arif S Doctor briefly heard arguments from senior advocate Birendra Saraf, representing the 64-year-old actor, and remarked that “it is scary what people can do with the unregulated use of AI on social media.” The court is expected to pass an ex parte ad-interim order in due course.

Shetty, who has acted in over 100 films, has filed a commercial intellectual property rights infringement suit against several social media platforms, websites, and unknown persons (John Doe defendants) for what he described as “extensive and ongoing infringement and unauthorised commercial exploitation” of his persona.

The plea highlights that his photographs and deepfake images, including those with his grandchild, were being used for commercial gain by real estate agencies, gambling and astrology websites, and merchandise sellers — all without his consent or authorisation.

Some of these instances involve AI-generated content, including deepfake videos and counterfeit merchandise like T-shirts and posters featuring his image.

Saraf submitted that such unauthorised usage and impersonation dilute the actor’s reputation, goodwill, and contractual commitments with third parties. “The infringement acts are causing irreparable harm to the plaintiff’s immense goodwill built carefully over the years,” the plea stated.

It further argued that the business models of such websites were designed to unlawfully monetise Shetty’s persona and “debase the goodwill and reputation that the plaintiff has cultivated over many years.”

The actor has sought a permanent injunction restraining all defendants from misusing his personality rights — including his name, image, likeness, voice, or any other attributes — in any form, especially through AI-generated or deepfake content.

He has also sought directions to take down infringing content and prohibit the manufacture or sale of counterfeit merchandise using his likeness.

Justice Doctor had earlier, while granting interim relief to singer Asha Bhosle in a similar plea, observed that using AI tools to imitate a celebrity’s voice without consent violates their personal rights.

Mumbai: The police have registered a case against the driver of actor Farhan Akhtar’s mother, Honey Irani, and an employee of a petrol pump near Bandra Lake. The accused driver, Naresh Singh, 35, used Akhtar’s cards to fill fuel in Irani’s cars. However, he merely swiped the cards at the petrol pump and an employee there, Arun Singh, 52, gave him cash after keeping his share for the deal.

On October 1, Irani’s manager filed a complaint with the Bandra police against Singh and the petrol pump employee for allegedly cheating them of Rs 12 lakh. According to the FIR, Irani’s manager, Diya Bhatia, 36, while checking the fuel accounts, discovered that a Maruti car with a diesel capacity of 35t was recorded as having received 621t.

When Bhatia questioned Singh, he gave unsatisfactory answers, claiming he only had one card to fill petrol and diesel. The manager examined the cards’ history. She discovered that Singh had used three cards, all registered under Akhtar’s name. She further found that Singh had purchased vehicle oil for a car that had been sold seven years ago. She arranged a meeting with Trani, during which Singh confessed to cheating them.

Singh revealed that in 2022, he obtained three cards from Akhtar’s former driver, Santosh Kumar. After obtaining the cards, he always filled petrol and diesel at the SV Road petrol pump near Bandra Lake, where he conspired with the petrol pump employee. Singh frequently swiped the cards without filling petrol or diesel and was given cash after a deduction of Rs 1,000- 1500.

A case has been registered under Sections 318 (criminal breach of trust), 418 (cheating), and 3(5) (general provisions) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.