In a petition filed by a Chartered Accountant, the Madras High Court has allowed to initiate corruption cases against the then Presidents of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in several serious allegations against the then President and the manner in which the decisions are taken by the Institute at the instance of the President of the Institute.
The Petitioner, Mr V. Venkata Siva Kumar contended that the then President acted for personal gains and the decisions taken by him were non-transparent, which resulted in financial loss to the Institute.
According to the petitioner, certain irregularities occurred while taking a decision for developing Research and Study Centre and in this regard, the Chartered Accountants of India have taken certain serious decisions without following the procedures, which resulted in financial loss to the Institute during the relevant point of time.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam observed that “As far as the interim orders are concerned, this Court is of an opinion that even in the case, prima facie, the case has been established by the petitioner, the law must be set in motion for the purpose of conducting a proper investigation in the manner known to law. The High Court cannot conduct an elaborate enquiry into the allegations, which all are more technical and more so, it requires adjudication of documents and evidences. The petitioner raises several omissions and commissions committed by the Chartered Accountant Institute, more specifically by the then President of the Institute.”
“The relief sought for in the present writ petition to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Central Vigilance Commission to investigate the matter cannot be granted by this Court. However, the petitioner, if at all, is confident about the irregularities and has materials on record to establish the allegations, he is at liberty to register a case before the Competent Authority, including the Central Vigilance Commission or the Jurisdictional Police or otherwise. In the event of not registering the complaint by the Jurisdictional Police or the Competent Authority, the petitioner is at liberty to approach the Competent Criminal Court of Law by way of private complaint for the purpose of establishing his case,” the Court observed.
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