Delhi HC Fines Centre Rs 20k for Hiding Facts in Sameer Wankhede Case
Court dismisses Centre’s review plea, says government withheld key details about CAT’s stay on disciplinary proceedings against the IRS officer
The Delhi High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the Central government for concealing key facts in its review plea against an earlier order directing the promotion of IRS officer Sameer Wankhede.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Madhu Jain on Friday dismissed the Centre’s petition, observing that it had failed to disclose that the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had already stayed departmental proceedings against Wankhede. The court termed the omission “unacceptable” and said the government must act with full candour when approaching the judiciary.
The review plea challenged a previous High Court order of August 28, which had upheld the CAT’s direction to open the sealed cover containing Wankhede’s promotion file and consider him for promotion to Additional Commissioner with effect from January 1, 2021.
The court noted that there was no charge sheet, suspension, or ongoing criminal prosecution against the officer at the time, rejecting the Centre’s claim that pending allegations justified withholding his promotion.
Reiterating that concealment of material facts cannot be tolerated, the bench imposed a cost of Rs 20,000 on the Centre, to be deposited within four weeks.
