The Supreme Court has opined that if a practicing chartered accountant commits misconduct while he holds the certificate of practice issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, he would be liable for punishment if the misconduct is proved.

A bench comprising Justice RK Agrawal and Justice AM Sapre made this observation while disposing of an appeal preferred by the Council Of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India against Madhya Pradesh High Court judgment of 2007, which had held that the accountant had ceased to be a member of the institute as he had surrendered his certificate and would not be liable for the punishment.

The bench, however, dismissed the appeal against the high court judgment, observing that it is not inclined to interfere with the judgment. “It is made clear that the dismissal of this appeal shall not be treated as a precedent,” the bench added.