CA. M.G. Vinaya Simha Vs Appellate Authority Constituted Under The Chartered Accountants Act (Karnataka High Court)
Fake Tax Challans Cost CA His Membership: Karnataka HC Upholds ICAI Disciplinary Action – Criminal Acquittal Does Not Wipe Out Professional Misconduct
Summary: The Karnataka High Court has upheld ICAI disciplinary proceedings & removal of a Chartered Accountant’s name from the Register of Members for 15 days, reiterating that criminal proceedings & professional disciplinary proceedings operate in different fields & that an acquittal/discharge in a criminal case does not automatically absolve a professional from disciplinary consequences.
The petitioner had been practising as a Chartered Accountant since 1997. The controversy originated from a complaint dated 18.02.2014 lodged by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax alleging that, while acting as authorised representative of an assessee, H. Nagaraja & his group concern, the CA had furnished false & fabricated tax-paid challans to the Income Tax Department. One of the materials relied upon was the petitioner’s own statement recorded u/s 131 of the Income Tax Act.
The Director (Discipline) formed a prima facie opinion & disciplinary proceedings followed. Meanwhile, criminal proceedings had also been initiated for offences including cheating, forgery, fabrication of evidence & use of forged documents under various provisions of the IPC. The CA requested that the disciplinary proceedings be kept in abeyance pending conclusion of the criminal proceedings. Nevertheless, the Board of Discipline found him guilty on 10.02.2023.
