HC upholds misconduct charge, spares CA from deregistration
Ahmedabad, Mar 27, 2026
The Gujarat high court has held a chartered accountant (CA) guilty of professional misconduct but declined to accept the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Council's recommendation to remove him from the register of members. The court instead let him off with a reprimand, noting that nearly two decades had passed since the incident.
The case involves CA Jignesh V Shah, who was appointed by Vijaya Bank as a concurrent auditor in 2003–04 for its Relief Road branch. The bank complained in 2004 that Shah failed to report major deficiencies at the branch, including excess credit limits, unauthorised bill purchases, overdue bills, and temporary overdrafts beyond delegated powers. These lapses came to light during an internal inspection.
In 2006, a disciplinary committee of the ICAI found Shah guilty under Clause 7 of Part I of the Second Schedule to the Chartered Accountants Act. The ICAI Council accepted the finding and, in 2008, recommended that his name be removed from the register of members for six months, referring the case to the high court.
Before the high court, Shah submitted that the delay in reporting was due to family circumstances. He contended that there was no mala fide intent or personal gain, and also challenged the non-supply of the bank inspectors' report.
After the hearing, a bench of Justice A S Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi upheld the ICAI disciplinary committee's findings. The court observed: "We find that the recommendation of the Council for removal of the respondent's name from the Register of Members for a period of six months is, in principle, appropriate. However, while accepting the said recommendation, we cannot overlook the inordinate lapse of time consumed in the present proceedings."
Declining to impose the recommended punishment, the court said: "Having regard to the passage of nearly two decades, we are of the considered view that the respondent ought not to be subjected, at this belated stage, to the rigours of removal from membership, even for a limited duration of six months. In the facts and circumstances of the case, an order under clause (b) of Section 21(6) of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, viz. ‘reprimand', would adequately meet the ends of justice."
[The Times of India]
