Delhi High Court imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the Center for hiding facts in the promotion review petition of Sameer Wankhede. Matters related to CAT order, UPSC recommendation and Bollywood drug case in highlights.
Delhi High Court Fine Center 2025: The Delhi High Court imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the Central government in the controversy related to the promotion of IRS officer and former NCB regional director Sameer Wankhede. The court strongly condemned the Center and said that before filing the petition, all the facts should be disclosed truthfully.
The Center had sought review of the order dated August 28, 2025, in which the government was directed to ascertain the UPSC’s recommendation for Wankhede’s promotion and, if recommended, to promote him.
Why did Sameer Wankhede’s promotion become the center of controversy?
Wankhede, who is a 2008 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, came into limelight in 2021 during his tenure at NCB Mumbai by threatening to implicate Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia Cruise drug case.
The High Court upheld the decision of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in December 2024, which had directed the government to promote Wankhede to the post of Additional Commissioner from January 1, 2021, if recommended by the UPSC, by opening the sealed envelope in Wankhede’s case.
The Center argued in the petition that a charge memorandum was issued against Wankhede on August 18, 2025 and departmental proceedings were initiated. Therefore the “sealed envelope” procedure was in place.
Did the Center hide important facts?
Wankhede’s lawyer said that the Center did not tell the court that CAT had stopped proceeding with the departmental inquiry against Wankhede on August 27, 2025. Considering this as serious, the court said that the Center hid important facts in the petition.
“We expect the Centre, as well as the state, to truthfully disclose all the facts while filing the writ,” a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Madhu Jain said.
What decision did the court give?
- Reconsideration petition rejected.
- Center fined Rs 20,000.
- The fine will be deposited in the Delhi High Court Advocates Welfare Fund.
The court clarified that the DPC meeting and CAT order were not fully implemented until the Center did not share important information till August 28.
What lesson can we learn from the Wankhede controversy?
This case shows how important transparency is in the promotion and investigation of government officials. The court made it clear that hiding facts or giving incomplete information is a serious issue.