Delhi High Court Upholds CAT Stay in Wankhede Case

The Delhi High Court has upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal's decision to stay disciplinary proceedings against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, who is linked to the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs case. The court urged CAT to resolve the matter by January 14 or within ten days thereafter.

The Delhi High Court, on Monday, upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal's order to pause disciplinary actions against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede concerning the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs incident.

In a petition filed by the Centre challenging the stay order, the court, consisting of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan, directed CAT to make earnest efforts to conclude the main case by January 14 or within the subsequent ten days.

Wankhede, a 2008-batch IRS officer, gained notoriety after being accused of attempting to extort Rs 25 crore from Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's family, threatening to implicate his son Aryan Khan in the drug case. The court highlighted the lack of progress since the inquiry was suspended in August, questioning the necessity of the interim stay order.

(With inputs from agencies.)