The Director (Discipline) of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India had received the matters in respect of cases of alleged misconduct…

(i) As per Clause (3) of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, a member of the Institute, whether in practice or not, shall be deemed to be guilty of professional misconduct if he includes in any information, statement, return or form to be submitted to the Institute, Council or any of its committees, Director (Discipline), Board of Discipline, Disciplinary Committee, Quality Review Board or the Appellate Authority any particulars knowing them to be false. In the instant case, CA H preferred an appeal with the Appellate Authority on 05th August, 2024 by submitting the statement of appeal along with application form for the same. However, it was discovered that the said statement of appeal contained some facts which were false, and CA H admitted it to be false. Therefore, CA H would be held guilty of professional misconduct under Clause (3) of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. (ii) In case where CA H was found guilty of professional misconduct under Clause (4) of Part I of the Second Schedule and Clause 11 of Part I of the First Schedule of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949: the matter would have been placed before Disciplinary Committee as it's allied to both the Schedule because as per the Chartered Accountant Act, 1949 if the matter is allied to the Second Schedule or Both it is referred to the Disciplinary Committee. The maximum punishment that the Disciplinary Committee could have imposed would be: (i) Reprimand the member (ii) Remove the name of the member from the Register permanently or for such period as it may think fit. (iii) Impose such a fine which may extend to rupees five lakhs. (iii) Timeline for Filing an Appeal: Any member aggrieved by an order of the Board of Discipline or the Disciplinary Committee can prefer an appeal within 90 days. In the given case, CA. H has preferred an appeal with the appellate authority on 5th August, 2024 against the order passed on 15th June 2024. From 15th June to 5th August, 90 days' timeline has not been lapsed. Thus, it can be said that CA H has filed an appeal within the time limit prescribed under the said Act.