1. This is a reference case filed by the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (for short ‘the Council’) under Section 21(5) of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (for short ‘the Act’) for consideration of the recommendation made by the Council for removal of the name of the respondent S. Giridharan, a practicing Chartered Accountant, from the register of members, maintained by it, for a period of one year.

2. The brief facts of this case are that with regard to the audit report and the balance sheets signed by the respondent a Statutory Auditor of M/s. Great Western Industries Ltd., (for brevity ‘M/s GWIL’), as on 30.09.98, 30.09.99 & 30.09.2000 a complaint was filed by the Superintendent of Police, CBI EOW, Chennai on 18.08.2006 before the Council alleging certain charges against the respondent. To the said complaint, the respondent submitted his written reply on 26.02.2007. TO the said reply, the complainant filed a rejoinder on 16.04.2007, to which the respondent submitted his reply on 21.06.2007. The complainant as well as the respondent were heard by the disciplinary committee of the Council. After concluding the hearing on 24.03.2010, the discipl