The Delhi High Court has permitted the Union government to continue disciplinary action against Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede over allegations linked to the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs case, setting aside a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that had quashed the proceedings.
A division bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Amit Mahajan allowed the Centre’s petition challenging the CAT’s January 19 decision, which had annulled the charge memorandum issued to Wankhede by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on August 18, 2025. Pronouncing the order, the bench said, “This petition is allowed.” The detailed judgment is awaited.
Wankhede, a 2008-batch IRS officer, came into national spotlight during his tenure with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai in connection with the high-profile Cordelia cruise drug bust in 2021. He later faced allegations of demanding ₹25 crore from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s family in exchange for not implicating Aryan Khan in the case.
Following his repatriation from the NCB, departmental proceedings were initiated by the CBIC. The charge memorandum alleged that Wankhede sought confidential information from the NCB’s legal division after he had been relieved from the agency. It also claimed that he attempted to obtain an “assurance” from an NCB legal officer to “steer the investigation.”
Wankhede challenged the disciplinary inquiry before the CAT, which quashed the charge memorandum earlier this year. On January 12, the Delhi High Court had declined to interfere with an interim CAT order staying the proceedings but directed the tribunal to decide the main matter expeditiously.
After the CAT set aside the charges on January 19, the Union government approached the High Court. With Friday’s ruling, the High Court has revived the disciplinary process against the officer, allowing the departmental inquiry to move forward.
Further details of the court’s reasoning are expected once the full judgment is released.
