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The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has overturned the transfer of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede from Mumbai to Chennai, stating that the Revenue Department “patently violated” its own transfer guidelines.
Wankhede, a 2008 batch IRS officer, gained national attention in 2021 while serving in the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai. He was accused of demanding ₹25 crore from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s family by allegedly threatening to implicate Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, in the Cordelia cruise drug case.
Tribunal Finds Procedural Lapses
A principal bench of the CAT, consisting of Justice Ranjit More and member Rajinder Kashyap, identified procedural lapses and potential bias in the transfer decision made by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance. The tribunal emphasized that while government officers are subject to all-India service liability, transfer policies should be implemented fairly and transparently.
“We are well aware of the fact that a transfer, which is an incident of service, is not to be interfered with by the courts unless it is shown to be clearly arbitrary or vitiated by mala fides or infraction of any professed norm or principle governing the transfer. However, the actions of respondents are such which do not fall within the policy framework laid by themselves,” the tribunal noted in its order dated February 20.
The bench further stated that the judgments cited by the revenue department could not justify Wankhede’s transfer since the department had “patently violated” its own transfer guidelines.
“With utmost restraint, we refrain from imposing the cost on the respondents. It is held that the transfer of the applicant is not in consonance with the new Transfer/Placement Guidelines, 2018 for Indian Revenue Service Officers issued by the respondents dated April 12, 2018,” the tribunal ruled.
Wankhede’s Career and Transfer Controversy
Sameer Wankhede is currently serving as an Additional Commissioner in the Department of Revenue in Chennai, following his transfer on May 30, 2022. Prior to this, he held the position of Zonal Director at the Mumbai NCB.
Wankhede challenged his transfer, arguing that it was punitive in nature and a direct consequence of his actions at the NCB. He claimed that he and his family members had received multiple death threats from the underworld. Despite his representations to reconsider the transfer, including requests submitted on June 6, 2022, and July 18, 2024, authorities rejected his appeals.
Previous Investigations and High-Profile Cases
Wankhede has been involved in several high-profile investigations, including the arrest of Sameer Khan, the son-in-law of a former Maharashtra cabinet minister, in a drug-related case. His tenure at the NCB saw him leading multiple high-stakes operations that garnered significant public and media attention.
However, after his transfer, a special inquiry team was set up to investigate his actions while in office. The inquiry against him was initiated on June 16, 2022.
The CAT’s ruling could have broader implications on how transfers of government officials are handled, particularly in cases where there is an alleged bias or deviation from policy. The tribunal’s decision reaffirms the importance of adhering to established transfer policies to ensure transparency and fairness in administrative actions.
