Supreme Court denies relief to Sameer Wankhede but directs time-bound decision on disciplinary proceedings

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with a Delhi High Court verdict by which disciplinary proceedings against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede were revived [Sameer Wankhede vs Union of India].However, the Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe noted that the Inquiry Officer and Presenting Officer in the disciplinary proceedings were appointed without affording Wankhede sufficient opportunity to respond to the chargesheet.It thus permitted him to represent himself and file his reply to the chargesheet within two weeks."While we are not inclined to interfere with the order passed by the High Court, we are of the opinion that the appointment of the Inquiry Officer as well as the Presenting Officer on 07.03.2026 is without affording sufficient opportunity to the petitioner (to Wankhede) to file reply to the chargesheet. For this reason, we permit the petitioner (Wankhede) to represent himself and file a reply to the chargesheet within two weeks from today. The respondent(s) will take the decision after considering the reply of the petitioner whether or not to appoint an Inquiry Officer as well as the Presenting Officer within two weeks thereafter," the Court ordered.The Bench went on to clarify that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case."We make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion on the merits of the matter. With these observations, the Special Leave Petition is disposed of," the order said..The proceedings stemmed from Wankhede’s tenure with the Narcotics Control Bureau in the 2021 during the Cordelia cruise drug seizure case. Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested in the same case. Later, Wankhede came under scanner for the arrest.A Special Enquiry Team (SET) conducted a preliminary inquiry. Based on this, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs initiated vigilance action and a chargesheet dated August 18, 2025 was issued under the CCS (CCA) Rules.The charges alleged that Wankhede sought confidential information after being relieved from the NCB. They also accused him of attempting to influence the investigation.Wankhede challenged the chargesheet before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). In January 2026, the CAT quashed the proceedings and held that the action against Wankhede was vitiated by malice and procedural impropriety.The Central government challenged this before the Delhi High Court. The High Court set aside the CAT order and found that the CAT had acted prematurely.Wankhede then challenged this High Court judgment before the Supreme Court..Representing Sameer Wankhede, Senior Advocate PS Patwalia argued that no charge was made out against him and that the proceedings were being used to deny him promotion.“There is no charge made out against me. This is only to deny me further promotion and to victimise me. The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” he argued.Justice Narasimha, however, expressed reservations.“Our conscience says it is not as if it is an absolutely clean slate, where there is nothing at all. When our conscience under Article 136 feels that this is not a situation where we need to interfere and quash the entire thing, the disciplinary proceedings must be brought to an expeditious conclusion,” the Court observed..At this, Patwalia responded that the authorities were hell bent on dismissing him from service.Justice Narasimha remarked that Wankhede had approached courts at multiple stages and did not require additional protection at this stage.“It is not as if you are such an innocent person. At every stage and every corner, you have gone to the courts. It is not as if you need some kind of additional protection,” the Court said.“We will only say that the appointment of an inquiry officer will be done after giving him an opportunity,” the Court clarified.It then proceeded to dispose of the matter..[Read Order]