Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Feb 27: The Delhi High Court on Friday permitted the continuation of disciplinary proceedings against Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede in connection with the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs case.

A bench comprising Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan allowed the Centre’s plea challenging a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that had quashed the disciplinary action initiated against Wankhede.

“This petition is allowed,” the bench stated while pronouncing the verdict. The detailed judgment is awaited.

The central government had moved the High Court against the CAT’s January 19 order, which had set aside the ‘Charge Memorandum’ issued to Wankhede on August 18, 2025, by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

Wankhede, a 2008-batch IRS officer, came under national scrutiny during his tenure with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai in 2021 over the Cordelia cruise drug bust case. He was accused of allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s family by threatening to implicate his son, Aryan Khan, in the case.

Before the CAT, Wankhede had filed an original application challenging the disciplinary inquiry initiated by the CBIC. He contended that he was accused of seeking confidential information related to the investigation from the NCB’s legal department after he had been relieved from the agency.

It was also alleged that he sought an “assurance” from the NCB legal officer in an attempt to “steer the investigation.”

Earlier, on January 12, the High Court had declined to interfere with the CAT’s interim order staying the disciplinary proceedings but had directed the tribunal to make sincere efforts to decide the main matter within a stipulated time frame.

With Friday’s ruling, the disciplinary proceedings against Wankhede will now continue.