The Delhi High Court on Friday imposed a ₹20,000 fine on the central government for suppressing crucial facts in its petition regarding the promotion of IRS officer and former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede.
The government had sought a review of the court’s August 28 order directing it to determine the UPSC’s recommendation on the promotion of Wankhede and grant him the rank of Additional Commissioner with effect from January 1, 2021, if recommended.
Delhi High Court Justices Navin Chawla and Madhu Jain said it expects the Center to disclose all the facts truthfully before filing the suit.
The HC upheld the December 2024 order of the Central Administrative Tribunal, which directed the government to open a sealed cover regarding the promotion of an IRS officer.
The government claimed that Wankhede’s case was placed under seal because of the cases filed against him.
Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service official from 2008, made headlines for the alleged demands ₹25 crore from the family of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan by threatening to implicate his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia drug seizure case during his tenure at NCB Mumbai in 2021.
On Friday, counsel for the Centre, Ashish Dixit, argued that prior to the August 28 order, the relevant authority had issued a penal memorandum and on August 18 initiated regular ministerial proceedings against Wankhede, thereby legitimately using the “sealed cover” procedure.
The Centre’s plea was opposed by advocate T Singhdev, representing Wankhede, who sought dismissal of the petition on the grounds that it was a tactic to harass an officer.
The HC bench dismissed the review petition and slammed the government for withholding material facts from the court.
“We have considered the submissions made by the counsel for the parties. It is true that as of the date of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) and the date of the order passed by the Tribunal on December 17, 2024, as we have confirmed, the ground for considering the DPC’s recommendation in a sealed envelope was not satisfied. In fact, it was also not satisfied when we reserved judgment on July 29,” we said on July 29.
It further states: “However, we strongly condemn the petitioner for withholding from this court the resolution dated August 27, 2025 restraining the petitioner from further departmental inquiry against the respondent.
“We would expect the petitioner as the government as a state to state truthfully all the facts before us when filing the indictment. For the above motion, we dismiss the motion with costs ₹20,000 to be deposited with the Delhi High Court Social Security Fund.”
