Karnataka HC directs ICAI to grant Membership to CA Student who pursued Multiple Courses during CA Studies [Read Order]

The Karnataka High Court issued a mandamus to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to consider addressing the grievance of the petitioner in accordance with law and enrolling her as a Member of the Institute bearing in mind the observations made in the course of the order.

The writ petition was filed, questioning an order/communication dated 1-05-2023 issued by the 3rd respondent, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) declining to accede to the request of the petitioner for membership to practice as a Chartered Accountant and has sought a consequential direction to register the petitioner as a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

The petitioner is a student. In the month of May 2017, she joined B.Com degree at ASC Evening Degree College. Simultaneously, she enrolled herself for a course in CMA Foundation.

After joining B.Com degree course, the petitioner completed CMA Foundation course and intermediate course as well in the month of June, 2018 and had pursued her CS-Executive Course which also gets completed in June 2018.

Therefore, the petitioner had enrolled herself to several courses and completed all of them except the B.Com. degree course which she pursued.

On 27-08-2018, the petitioner joined Chartered Accountant Articleship training. She then seeks permission to continue her B.Com. degree course by submitting necessary application in Form No.112 under the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 for grant of permission to pursue additional courses.

The permission was granted. The petitioner then completed her B.Com degree in September, 2020. After completion of B.Com. degree, she seeks permission to write CMA final exam and the respondent permits additional courses to be taken. The petitioner in December, 2020 completed her CMA final exam as well.

After its completion, the petitioner on 30-03-2021 sought permission to pursue an additional course - CS professional again seeking permission by submitting application in Form No.112. Permission was granted.

On completion of all the courses and Articleship, the petitioner then filed an application seeking enrollment as Member of the ICAI to become a Chartered Accountant.

Certain clarifications were sought from the hands of the petitioner as to how she pursued multiple courses by submitting Form No.112 and later it was informed that the decision is that the petitioner would not be permitted to enroll as a Chartered Accountant for two years and would be imposed a fine of Rs.10,000/- for having pursued multiple courses on every occasion which the ICAI stated it was without permission.

Correspondence between the petitioner and the respondents galore, clarifications are sought and replies were given by the petitioner. On 01-05-2023, the membership is categorically denied to the petitioner.

The petitioner, student, challenged that action before the Karnataka High Court in the subject petition.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner, Somashekharaiah R P submitted that at every point in time has sought permission to pursue multiple courses and permission has been granted. It is not a case where she has pursued courses without permission being granted and therefore, there should be no impediment for the petitioner to practice as Chartered Accountant by registering the petitioner as a Chartered Accountant by the Institute.

Shriraja S, representing respondent Nos.2 to 4, the ICAI vehemently refuted the submission to contend that what the petitioner had applied was for final courses and not the foundation or intermediate course, the petitioner has violated Regulation 65 of the Regulations that operate the field, which bars the multiple courses being pursued by a student, who has enrolled for Articleship with respondent No.2.

The counsel took the Court through the statement of objections and a tabular column found in the statement of objections to contend that the petitioner has pursued multiple courses without adequate permission and therefore, the action of the respondents cannot be found fault with. If at all the petitioner would become entitled to, it would be only from the month of February, 2025

and not any day earlier.

The bench observed, from the communications between the student and the institute that, “What would unmistakably emerge from the aforequoted communications and the act of the student is that on every occasion, the student has diligently sought permission from the 2nd respondent to pursue the course and on every occasion, the student has been permitted to pursue the course. Now, when time came to register her as a Member of the Council to practice as a Chartered Accountant, the 2 nd respondent wants to put the clock back by four years tinkering with the permissions that are already granted from time to time. It would have been an altogether different circumstance, if the student was not diligent in seeking permissions from time to time to pursue extra courses. It is not the allegation that forms the issue in the lis.”

It was thus remarked that, “The petitioner/student has been 2023 diligent in securing permissions. The mighty respondent now wants to jeopardize the career of a student on the score that it had not properly accorded permission or permission was not properly sought by the student. This act of the 2nd respondent sans countenance.”

“Whatever defense that the council for the 2nd respondent seeks to project, by invoking Regulation 65 of the Regulations by contending that the permission that was granted was for final courses and not foundation courses that precedes those final courses is a contention skating on thin ice, as the foundation courses gets subsumed in the final courses, and permission is granted for pursuing final courses”, the Single Bench of Justice E M Nagaprasanna observed.

In result, the petition was allowed, quashing the communication/order directing the student to pay a fine and to not be enrolled for 2 years.

The order shall be passed within 4 weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, the Single Bench of Karnataka High Court added, while issuing a writ of mandamus, to the ICAI, to consider addressing of the grievance of the petitioner in accordance with law and enrolling her as a Member of the Institute bearing in mind the observations made in the course of the order.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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