The Delhi High Court, in a significant ruling, dismissed the Central Government's plea challenging the order to promote IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, provided he is deemed eligible by the UPSC. The judgment, delivered by a division bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Madhu Jain, upheld the directive of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and mandated that the Union Government must adhere to this order within four weeks.

Facts:

The CAT's original decision required the government to unseal the cover related to Wankhede's promotion and stipulated that upon a favourable recommendation from the UPSC, he should be promoted to the position of Additional Commissioner effective from January 1, 2021.

The Central Government had contended that the Tribunal overlooked the fact that investigations had been initiated against Wankhede by agencies like the CBI and ED, alongside a complaint alleging submission of a forged Caste Certificate for employment purposes.

However, the Court pointed out that there were no pending Departmental Proceedings involving any charge-sheet against Wankhede. It also emphasized that the officer had not been placed under suspension, nor had any criminal prosecution with a charge-sheet been initiated against him.

The Court remarked, “Though the learned counsel for the petitioners has vehemently submitted that there are grave allegations against the respondent for which an FIR and an ECIR have been registered, and CVC on earlier occasion has also advised initiation of disciplinary proceedings, the fact remains that neither a charge-sheet in the criminal cases has been filed, nor disciplinary proceedings by issuance of a charge sheet have been initiated so far,”.

Furthermore, the Court stressed that there was no admission of guilt from Wankhede, and the investigation by the CBI or ED had not resulted in any chargesheet. It also noted, “As far as the Departmental Proceedings are concerned, the petitioners itself has advised CVC not to proceed further with the same,” reinforcing Wankhede's position.

Appearance: Counsel for Petitioners: Mr.Ashish K. Dixit, CGSC with Mr.Shivam Tiwari, Mr.Umar Hashmi, Ms.Urmila Sharma, Advs

Counsel for Respondent: Mr.Sudhir Nandrajog and Mr.Arvind Nayar, Sr.Advocates with Mr.T.Singhdev, Mr.Nikhil Palli, Mr.Jatin Prashar, Ms.Niyati Razdan, Ms.Bhavya Sharma, Mr.Vaidushya Parth, Mr.Shubham, Ms.Anum Hussain, Ms.Manisha, Ms.Ankita,

Case Title: UNION OF INDIA AND ORS v. SAMEER DNYANDEV WANKHEDE