NEW DELHI: The number of disciplinary cases against chartered accountants in the first six months of this year is more than twice that of the same period in 2016, a reply to an RTI has disclosed.
These cases involve members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) where Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently sought action against erring professionals.
Disciplinary cases involve malpractices like cheating, forgery and fraud by the chartered accountants. There were 474 cases registered till July this year. In all of 2016, the total number of cases was 460. The figures are from an RTI response to an advocate, Mohit Kumar Gupta.
However, only 10 cases in 2017 were deemed closed at the prima facie stage. There is not a single case where hearing was concluded or any of the accused was found guilty. “The increase in the number of cases is because most of the time agencies complain and inform us about corruption but don’t come forward to file official complaints. Also, it takes time to deal with the case,” explained Amit Therja, deputy secretary, disciplinary directorate, ICAI.
Therja also said that all these cases are judicial in nature. “This is due to the fact that the court process is very long and it takes time for concluding the investigations, collecting evidence and conclusion of the hearing. We also transfer many cases to fast track court,” he added.