Not only 'gross negligence', but 'due diligence' is equally relevant and
important criterion in measuring and determining "professional
misconduct" in case of a Chartered Accountant.
>
> In the instant case, the petitioner, a practicing CA, was aggrieved
by two concurrent orders passed by disciplinary and appellate committee
whereby punishment of removal of petitioner's name from the register
for a period of 1 year was imposed and confirmed. The above order was
passed on the basis of following reasoning:
>
> a) The petitioner did not exercise due diligence;
>
> b) He had shown gross negligence and carelessness in certifying tax
audit report which did not reflect true and fair picture of the
company's affairs; and
>
> c) He had signed the tax audit report without actually performing the audit as required
>
> The High Court dismissed the petition by holding as under:
>
> 1) The petitioner was conveniently overlooking the fact that as a
professional CA while certifying audit report, it was his duty to
diligently prepare the report without any mistake. It was his obligation
to be diligent, careful and cautious before issuing certificate;
>
> 2) "Gross negligence" alone is not required to be taken into
account while examining the act of the petitioner. But the exercise of
due diligence is equally vital to decide whether acts of omission and/or
commission amount to misconduct;
>
> 3) Once a particular factual aspect or entries, etc., are prepared,
signed and certified by CA they are ordinarily accepted without further
probing or investigation. In such circumstances, the duty and
obligation of being absolutely diligent, conscious and careful are
multiplied manifold and a CA shouldn't perform his duties lightly or
casually;
>
> 4) A mistake by a petty clerk or lower level accountant may be
dealt with in a different manner but a mistake by a CA cannot be treated
casualty;
>
> 5) The professional or trained CA is equipped with knowledge,
training and experience to catch a mistake and if such trained and
experienced professional allows so many mistakes, pass-by without
detecting them and if he signs and authenticates report containing such
mistakes, etc., and also issues certificate, then, in such
circumstances, any fault cannot be found with the conclusions drawn by
the Disciplinary Committee, also confirmed by the Appellate Committee;
>
> 6) The petitioner had tried to wish-away his failure in detecting,
catching and correcting the mistakes by attributing the blame to typist
and computer operator. Therefore, the Court was not inclined to accept
the petitioner's contention that the action taken by the institute was
too harsh - CA RAJESH v. DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE [2012] 28
taxmann.com 100 (Gujarat)