New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the Union government for concealing material facts in its review petition challenging a previous ruling that upheld the promotion of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Dnyandev Wankhede.
A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Madhu Jain dismissed the Centre’s review plea, criticising the government’s conduct. “We expect that the petitioner as a State would disclose all facts truthfully before filing the petition. For this, we dismiss the present review petition with a cost of Rs 20,000,” the court said.
The case stemmed from an order issued by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in December 2024, directing the government to open the sealed cover containing Wankhede’s promotion details. The tribunal had said that if the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had recommended his name, he should be promoted to the post of Additional Commissioner with effect from January 2021.
The High Court had upheld the CAT’s ruling on August 28 this year. However, the Union government later filed a review petition, claiming that departmental proceedings had been initiated against Wankhede between the reservation of judgment on July 29 and its pronouncement on August 28.
The Bench observed that the Centre had failed to reveal an order passed by the CAT in August 2025, which had stayed the departmental proceedings against Wankhede. The judges noted that the CAT’s order predated the filing of the review plea, yet the government had chosen not to disclose it.
Wankhede came into the spotlight for leading the 2021 Cordelia Cruise drug case, which allegedly involved actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan.
He later faced allegations of misconduct and was accused of using a forged caste certificate. Following the High Court’s latest decision, the Centre has been directed to implement the CAT’s order and grant Wankhede’s promotion, if recommended by the UPSC, within four weeks.