Telangana HC admits plea to quash ICAI’s disciplinary proceedings

Hyderabad, December 4, 2024

A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court admitted a writ appeal filed by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and others challenging quashing of a prima facie opinion of ICAI’s disciplinary directorate against a chartered accountant alleged of misconduct being financial advisor of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The two-judge bench comprised Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao.

Earlier, a writ plea was filed by V. Vijay Sai Reddy, challenging a prima facie opinion of the disciplinary directorate was quashed. The committee, while deliberating on the prima facie opinion, noted that the petitioner is alleged of various misconduct in the capacity of being financial advisor of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his group companies and that in the prima-facie opinions he was, inter-alia, held prima-facie guilty of professional misconduct falling within the meaning of Clause(7) of Part I of the Second Schedule to the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.

The single judge while quashing the prima facie opinion said examined in detail various provisions pertaining to the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. It ruled that such prima facie opinion is devoid of any merits since such conclusion against the petitioner had been arrived at by the respondent in a mechanical manner and not in an objective manner.

In the appeal, it was contended by the ICAI that the single judge ought to have appreciated that the power of judicial review was not available at the stage of prima facie opinion. The bench, however, refused to grant ex parte order of suspension to the impugned order and directed Vijay Sai Reddy to file his response within two weeks.

[Deccan Chronicle]