The Supreme Court on Monday refused to set aside the Delhi High Court verdict that upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order granting relief to IRS officer Sameer Wankhede.
The decision directs the Union government to promote him to the rank of Joint Commissioner of Customs and Indirect Taxes if he fulfills the eligibility criteria.
The Supreme Court rejected the central government’s plea seeking to challenge the high court’s decision issued on August 28 last year.
“We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment and order in exercise of our jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. The special leave petitions are, therefore, dismissed. However, the dismissal of this matter will not affect any further proceedings. The pending applications, if any, will be disposed of,” the court observed.
The High Court order upheld the CAT judgment of December 2024. The tribunal directed the authorities to promote Wankhede to the rank of Additional Commissioner of Customs and Indirect Taxes with effect from January 1, 2021, subject to the approval of the UPSC.
The Tribunal further ordered that his placement in the list of Service Commissioners be adjusted accordingly.
The Center has defended Wankhede’s move, citing several active investigations against him. These legal hurdles included a May 2023 FIR by the CBI, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case under money laundering laws and several prosecution motions recommending significant penalties.
These legal problems stemmed from allegations of corruption and procedural errors during the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raid on the Cordelia cruise ship.
Wankhede led this operation which resulted in the high-profile arrest of Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, for alleged drug offences.
Prosecutors alleged that the officers involved abused their authority and conspired with private citizens to extort money. Specifically, there were claims and ₹25 million demand from accused person’s family – later negotiated ₹18 million — with reported ₹50 million paid as bribe. Because of these allegations, Wankhede’s promotion recommendation was placed under “sealed cover”, halting his career progression.
However, the Delhi High Court agreed with the CAT and approved the promotion. The court noted that till August 2025, no formal departmental inquiry was active against Wankhede, no official charge sheets had been submitted by the CBI or the ED, and he was neither suspended nor formally charged.
The High Court emphasized that a preliminary inquiry alone is not sufficient reason to block a promotion. With reference to KV Jankiraman legal precedent, the HC judges noted that if the allegations were indeed serious, the government could have suspended the officer — a step they chose not to take.
The Supreme Court has now confirmed this position.
Sameer Wankhede of the 2008 batch of the IRS rose to prominence as the zonal director of NCB Mumbai, primarily for leading major drug probes like the 2021 cruise case.
