Wankhede transfer biased: CAT

The principal bench of the tribunal said the transfer order issued by the revenue department in May 2022 “failed to uphold their own policy” and “smacks of their bias towards the applicant”

MUMBAI: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has set aside the transfer of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede, who courted controversy after arresting actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in a drug bust case in 2021, from Mumbai to Chennai.

Sameer Wankhede, former Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

The principal bench of the tribunal said the transfer order issued by the revenue department in May 2022 “failed to uphold their own policy” and “smacks of their bias towards the applicant”.

Wankhede, a 2008 batch IRS officer, was posted as zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai in October 2021, when he courted controversy by arresting Aryan Khan. He was then repatriated back to his parent cadre, revenue service, and on January 4, 2022, he joined as additional director, Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM), Mumbai. On May 30, 2022, he was transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Service (DGTS), Chennai.

In June 2023, Wankhede submitted a representation seeking cancellation of his transfer citing various personal and professional reasons, including death threats from the underworld received by him and his family members. He approached the CAT after his representation failed to yield any response.

Wankhede said in January 2024, he submitted an online representation for considering his case during annual general transfers for the year, again citing threats received by him and his family members. But his request for cancellation of the transfer was ignored again.

The revenue department and the Central Board for Direct Taxes contested his plea, claiming he had remained posted in Mumbai since joining the revenue service as assistant commissioner in May 2010 till June 8, 2022, and had never worked outside Mumbai. They further pointed out that the placement committee of the department had considered his representations and refused to cancel the transfer order as several complaints and investigations against him were pending, and he was yet to complete three years in Chennai.

However, the CAT bench comprising the chairman, justice Ranjit More, and member Rajinder Kashyap, noted that out of the ten-year period when the revenue department claimed Wankhede was posted in Mumbai, he had spent over four years in Delhi.

“Hence, the contention of the respondents is incorrect and cannot be relied upon,” the bench said. “It is disheartening to state that the respondents are indulging in such assertions despite having complete details of postings of the applicant with them. This stand of respondents definitely smacks their bias towards the applicant.”

The transfer order issued to Wankhede was in breach of the department’s 2018 transfer guidelines, under which respondents are required to conduct their administrative business in just and fair manner, the bench said. The department had “failed to uphold their own policy”, it said while striking down the transfer order on February 20.