The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has set aside the transfer of IRS officer Sameer Wankhede from Mumbai to Chennai, stating that the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance had “patently violated” its own transfer guidelines.
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A 2008-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, Mr. Wankhede gained national attention for his role in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case in 2021, during his tenure as Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Mumbai. He was accused of demanding Rs.25 crore from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s family to avoid implicating his son Aryan Khan in the case.
The Principal CAT Bench, comprising Justice Ranjit More and Rajinder Kashyap, found procedural lapses and potential bias in Mr. Wankhede’s transfer order, issued on May 30, 2022. The tribunal emphasized that while government officers are subject to all-India service liability, transfer policies must be fair, transparent, and just.
In its February 20, 2025 order, the bench noted that while courts generally do not interfere in transfer matters, exceptions exist when a decision is arbitrary or violates established norms. It stated that the 2018 Transfer/Placement Guidelines for IRS (C&CE) officers were not followed in Mr. Wankhede’s case.
Currently serving as Additional Commissioner in Chennai, Mr. Wankhede alleged that his transfer was punitive in nature and a direct consequence of his NCB actions, adding that he and his family received death threats from the underworld. His repeated representations for reconsideration, including those in June 2022 and July 2024, were rejected by authorities.
Mr. Wankhede has been involved in several high-profile investigations, including the arrest of Sameer Khan, son-in-law of a former Maharashtra Cabinet Minister, in a drug-related case. Following these events, a special enquiry team initiated an investigation against him on June 16, 2022.
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