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Section21B
The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949

Disciplinary Committee

In force From 01 Jul 1949 Act 38 of 1949 As on 22 Oct 2026

Act 38 of 1949 Ministry Corporate Affairs Enacted 01 May 1949 In force 01 Jul 1949 Cited by 4 provisions Instruments 4

Section 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 deals with disciplinary Committee. [ [21B. Disciplinary Committee.--(1) The Council shall constitute a Disciplinary Committee consisting of the President or the Vice-President of the Council as the Presiding Officer and two members to be elected from amongst the members of the Council and two members to be nominated by the Central Go The Act came into force on 01 Jul 1949.

1[ 2[21B. Disciplinary Committee.--(1) The Council shall constitute a Disciplinary Committee consisting of the President or the Vice-President of the Council as the Presiding Officer and two members to be elected from amongst the members of the Council and two members to be nominated by the Central Government from amongst the persons of eminence having experience in the field of law, conomics, business, finance or accountancy:

Provided that the Council may constitute more Disciplinary Committees as and when it considers necessary.

(2) The Disciplinary Committee, while considering the cases placed before it shall follow such procedure as may be specified.

(3) Where the Disciplinary Committee is of the opinion that a member is guilty of a professional or other misconduct mentioned in the Second Schedule or both the First Schedule and the Second Schedule, it shall afford to the member an opportunity of being heard before making any order against him and may thereafter take any one or more of the following actions, namely:--

(a) reprimand the member;

(b) remove the name of the member from the Register permanently or for such period, as it thinks fit;

(c) impose such fine as it may think fit, which may extend to rupees five lakhs.

(4) The allowances payable to the members nominated by the Central Government shall be such as may be specified.]]

Section 21B, The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act 38 of 1949).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

Referred to by 4

  1. s. 2 Interpretation
  2. s. 22G Appeal to Authority
  3. s. 29A Power of Central Government to make rules
  4. s. 30 Power to make regulations

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Vijaykant Jagannath Kulkarni v. Disciplinary Committee, ICAI & Ors.

    High Court 14 Mar 2023 Persuasive (High Court) W.P.(C) 1887/2023 (Del HC); Final Order 14.03.2023; Prathiba M. Singh J.

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    DATE-VERIFIED Final Order 2023-03-14 (order-1.pdf) — get_case_brief markdownContent body '14th March, 2023'/'MARCH 14, 2023' matches index. After Disciplinary Committee finds member guilty, writ challenging that finding is premature — Committee must still hear and pass action/penalty under s.21B(5); both guilt finding and penalty order are then appealable to Appellate Authority under s.22G. Court declines merits review; directs fresh s.21B(5) hearing and eight-week non-implementation window for appeal.

    On this section: s.21B — Disciplinary Committee pathway is two-stage (guilt under inquiry, then penalty under s.21B(5)); Art.226 not substitute for statutory appeal under s.22G.

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Judgments citing this section

These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.

  1. High Court 21 May 2012 KLHC010720492011

    … in these two writ petitions area as to whether, on a complaint received from an aggrieved person, the Board of Discipline and the Disciplinary Committee (the respective 3rd respondent in these two writ petitions), constituted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, (the 1 st respondent herein), under Sections 21A and 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), can, without giving any reasons, decide not to initiate disciplinary action against two chartered accountants, especially when the Director (Discipline), the 2 nd respondent herein, without giving any reasons in exercise of powers under …

    Read this order on eCourtsIndia

Made under this section, and citing it

4 instruments state that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 21B

What have the courts held on Section 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act?

Vijaykant Jagannath Kulkarni v. Disciplinary Committee, ICAI & Ors. (14 Mar 2023) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.21B — Disciplinary Committee pathway is two-stage (guilt under inquiry, then penalty under s.21B(5)); Art.226 not substitute for statutory appeal under s.22G.

How do I find court cases under Section 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Chartered Accountants Act 21B, section 21B Chartered Accountants Act, section 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Vijaykant Jagannath Kulkarni v. Disciplinary Committee, ICAI & Ors. (14 Mar 2023).

What should I read with Section 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act, and has it changed?

4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 4: most recently The Chartered Accountants Act(Procedure of Investigation of Professional and Other Misconduct and Conduct of Cases)Amnendment Rules, 2018 (1.32 MB) (2018), then Chartered Accountants Disciplinary Rules, 2007 - Updated as on 1 st October, 2020 (2007), and 2 more.

When did Section 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act come into force?

Section 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act, cited as Chartered Accountants Act 21B, came into force on 01 Jul 1949, having been enacted on 01 May 1949. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 22 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.