The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)'s principal bench on Monday set aside the disciplinary charge framed against Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and restrained the authorities from proceeding further on the basis of the charge memorandum.
A Bench of Justice Ranjit More (Chairman) and Rajinder Kashyap (Member–Administrative) allowed Wankhede’s challenge to Charge Memorandum no. 30/2025 dated August 18, 2025."The impugned Charge Memorandum dated 18.08.2025 (Annexure A/1) is quashed and set aside with all consequential benefits in accordance with law and rules on the subject," the tribunal held.
The tribunal also took exception to authorities for acting in a biased manner against Wankhede said that their actions seemed to be borne out of malice."The motive involved in the issuance of the charge sheet is driven by the above biased considerations, and the inquiry would be a mere farcical show, the conclusion of which is already well known. Hence, we interfere at this stage itself to avoid further harassment and humiliation of the applicant," the CAT said.
It criticised the conduct of CBIC and termed its actions as an attempt to stall the promotion of Wankhede."The chain of events unmistakably demonstrates that the impugned Charge Memorandum bears no real nexus with the purported allegations but appears to be retaliation of respondents arising out of a number of decisions in the matters of the applicant and also is looked as an endeavour to stall the promotion of the applicant. Such conduct is ex facie demonstrative of malice in law and personal vendetta and colourable exercise of power," the judgment stated.
It also said that it is inclined to impose costs on CBIC but is refraining from doing so with the hope that the CBIC would mend its ways. "For the reasons deliberated in this order, we impose a great restraint on ourselves and refrain from imposing heavy costs on the respondents, with the hope that they will mend their ways and establish an administrative mechanism that upholds the rule of law," the CAT said.
Wankhede is a 2008-batch IRS officer. He served as Mumbai Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau between 2020 and January 2022. During this period, NCB Mumbai registered Cordelia Cruise drug case involving Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan. Later, allegations were raised regarding procedural lapses in the investigation. A special enquiry team (SET) was then constituted by the NCB.The SET submitted its report in June 2022.Wankhede then challenged the SET report before CAT. He contended that the officer heading the enquiry had himself supervised the investigation in the Cordelia cruise case.
Follow us
