JUDGMENT

Valmiki Sa Menezes, J. - This is a reference made to this Court under Section 21(5) of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (for short 'the Act') by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, New Delhi, (for short 'the Institute') for necessary orders to be passed in terms of Sub-Section 6 of Section 21 thereof.

2. It is the case of the petitioner that it received a complaint dated 11.01.1999 from one Santosh Kumar Surajbhan Goel from Pune alleging that the respondent Shri Nitin D. Desai, a Chartered Accountant registered with the Institute, had written a letter to members of the Poona Club Ltd., soliciting their clientele in the guise of canvassing for votes during the said club's Executive Committee elections.

It was the complainant's allegation that the respondent, under the guise of soliciting votes for his candidature to the post of Officer Bearer of the Executive Committee of the said club, had represented to members of that club that he was a proprietor of M/s. D.S. Desai and Company Limited, claiming that his firm has rendered dedicated services to several corporate clients whose names were stated in the said letter ; that the respondent had, by the said letter,