Delhi HC pulls up Centre for concealing facts in Sameer Wankhede promotion case, imposes fine of Rs 20,000

On August 29 this year, the Delhi HC upheld an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) which directed the Centre to promote Wankhede to the post of joint commissioner, if found eligible.

The Centre sought a review of the HC judgment, submitting that between July 29, when the court had reserved its judgment on Wankhede’s plea, and its pronouncement a month later, the competent authority had issued a memo of charge initiating regular departmental action (major penalty proceedings) against the officer under The Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965.

This memo was issued on August 18, and the Department of Revenue contended that the HC had “proceeded on the factual premise that no charge-memo/ charge-sheet existed and, on that basis, upheld the CAT’s directions to…grant promotion with effect from January 1, 2021…”.

The CAT order was issued on April 17. It directed that in case Wankhede’s name was recommended by UPSC for promotion, “he shall be granted promotion to the post of Additional Commissioner w.e.f. 01.01.2021”.

The Tribunal also directed that Wankhede’s name should be placed “at appropriate position in the final seniority list dated 28.03.2024 of Joint Commissioners of Customs and Indirect Taxes”.

On Friday, the HC Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Madhu Jain deprecated the Centre’s conduct in concealing that the CAT had, in fact, stayed the departmental proceedings initiated on August 18.

The Bench termed the omission of this subsequent fact on the Centre’s part as “unacceptable”, and dismissed the petition.

The court also fined the department Rs 20,000, which is to be deposited in the Delhi High Court Advocates’ Welfare Fund within four weeks.

A “message has to be sent” to the department that the court expects the petitioner (which was the state in this case) to “disclose all facts truthfully”, the court observed orally.

CAT had issued interim directions to the department on August 27 to not proceed with the departmental inquiry against Wankhede. The Tribunal had observed that the charge memo was premised upon material and evidence that Wankhede had himself placed before the Bombay High Court where an interim stay in his favour is already operating, and the matter is pending before the court.

The memo of charge had alleged that Wankhede “failed to maintain absolute integrity at all times; behaved in a way which was unbecoming of a government servant” by seeking “sensitive and confidential information” from the NCB’s legal advisor in relation to the Aryan Khan case in June 2022, by when he had already been detached from the NCB.

The memo also accused Wankhede of obtaining an assurance from the legal advisor of NCB “so as to steer the investigation” of the NCB case against Aryan Khan “towards a predetermined outcome for ulterior motive”.

Wankhede also faces CBI and ED proceedings in relation to accusations of money laundering. Both cases were registered in 2023, and in July, Bombay HC gave the CBI three months to complete the probe.

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