The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has pressed pause on disciplinary proceedings against former NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who has long been at the center of the storm over the 2021 Aryan Khan drug case.
The Revenue Department had recently sharpened its stance, slapping Wankhede with two fresh charges on August 18. But the CAT Bench, led by Justice Ranjit More and Rajinder Kashyap, found the grounds shaky — pointing out that the material relied upon was already under judicial scrutiny in the Bombay High Court, where an interim stay is in place.
In its order, the tribunal observed that since the evidence being used had been placed before the High Court and was already tied up in litigation, continuing with departmental action would be premature.
The new charges paint Wankhede in a contentious light: one alleges he improperly sought sensitive information from the NCB’s legal advisor after his official detachment from the agency in mid-2022. The other accuses him of securing an “assurance” to sway the Aryan Khan case toward a predetermined outcome, citing a purported recorded conversation.
For now, the CAT has issued notice to the Revenue Department and ordered that no further steps be taken until the next hearing on October 14.
