Helps Society If Student Has Extra Acumen: Karnataka High Court Directs ICAI To Grant Membership To Chartered Accountant Who Pursued Multiple Courses

The Karnataka High Court has directed the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to grant membership to practise as a Chartered Accountant to a 23-year-old who pursued multiple courses while pursuing the CA course.

A single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna allowed the petition filed by Nikkitha K J and said “I deem it appropriate to bend the arc of justice for a student and direct grant of Membership of the petitioner to the Institute without brooking any further delay.”

The petitioner had approached the court calling in question an order/communication dated 1-05-2023 issued by the ICAI declining to accede to the request of the petitioner for membership to practice as a Chartered Accountant and sought a consequential direction to register him as a member of the Institute.

It was submitted that the petitioner in May 2017, joined B.Com degree at ASC Evening Degree College. On 27-08-2018, she joined Chartered Accountant Articleship training and sought permission to continue her B.Com. degree course by submitting the necessary application under the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988.

It was submitted that such permission was granted and she completed her B.Com degree in September 2020. After completion of B.Com. degree, she sought permission to write the CMA final exam and the respondent permitted additional courses also to be taken.

In December 2020 she submitted that she had completed her CMA final exam as well. On completion of all the courses and Articleship, the petitioner allegedly filed an application seeking enrollment as a chartered accountant.

Petitioner submitted that after extensive inquiry, she was told that she would not be permitted to enroll as a Chartered Accountant for two years and would have to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/- for having pursued multiple courses which the ICAI says was without permission.

“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,” it was argued by the respondents who claimed that the petitioner had violated the Institutes Regulations on Articleship. 

The bench on going through the records said “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 ICAI to pursue the course and on every occasion, the student has been permitted to pursue the course. Now, when the time came to register her as a Member of the Council to practice as a Chartered Accountant, the ICAI wants to put the clock back by four years tinkering with the permissions that are already granted from time to time.”

It observed that the petitioner/student had been diligent in securing permissions and the 'mighty respondent' now wanted to jeopardize the career of a student on the allegation that it had not properly accorded permission or permission was not properly sought by the student. 

The Court observed that it was dealing with the fervent cry of the student who sought to pursue multiple courses to develop such acumen and that she had completed all those courses with the permission of the ICAI.

A student will not know the implications of law. A student knows only to study and ponder over the study material. She has studied and completed the courses. It is rather surprising that the 2nd respondent wants to stifle the career of a student, who has pursued multiple courses and gained such acumen to practise as a Chartered Accountant, the Bench held.

Court held that it would be helpful to the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and Society if a student has extra acumen, and the student had only studied and done nothing else, that too after seeking permission.

Accordingly, it allowed the petition and directed the ICAI to consider addressing the grievance of the petitioner under the law and enroll her as a Member of the Institute bearing in mind the observations made in the the order.

Appearance: Advocate Somashekharaiah R P for Petitioner.

Advocate Vaibhav Malimath for R1;

Advocate Shriraja S for M/S. JUST LAW, ADVOCATES FOR R2 TO R4.

Citation No: 2023 LiveLaw (Kar) 477

Case Title: Nikkitha K J AND Union of India & others

Case No: Writ Petition No. 10759 of 2023.

Click Here To Read/Download Order