Moral turpitude and professional disqualification: bigamy conviction sustained removal from the professional register.

A subsisting conviction for bigamy was treated as an offence involving moral turpitude, triggering disqualification under the Chartered Accountants Act and authorising removal of the member's name from the register. The earlier professional-body view was only prima facie and did not override the later confirmed conviction and Supreme Court order. Notice and opportunity of hearing were provided, and the plea of breach of natural justice failed because the affected party chose not to appear.

---

---

Issues: Whether a conviction for bigamy constitutes an offence involving moral turpitude so as to attract disqualification under the Chartered Accountants Act, and whether removal of the appellant's name from the register was valid notwithstanding the earlier prima facie closure and the plea of violation of natural justice.

Analysis: The appellant's conviction for bigamy had been affirmed through the criminal hierarchy and remained subsisting. The earlier decision of the professional body was only a prima facie view taken without knowledge of the final conviction and Supreme Court order. Once the conviction was noticed, the statutory disability under Section 8 operated, and Section 20 empowered removal from the register. Bigamy was held to involve moral turpitude because it is conduct contrary to law and to accepted standards of honesty and morality. The appellant was given notice and an opportunity of hearing but chose not to appear, so the plea of violation of natural justice failed.

Conclusion: Bigamy amounts to moral turpitude for the purpose of disqualification, and the removal of the appellant's name from the register was valid and sustainable.

Final Conclusion: The writ appeal failed, and the order removing the appellant from membership was affirmed.

Ratio Decidendi: A subsisting conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude attracts statutory disqualification and authorises removal from the professional register, and a party who declines the opportunity of hearing cannot later invoke natural justice to challenge the removal.

---