Wide statutory meaning of "information" upheld for disciplinary initiation; newspaper reports alone are insufficient without supporting material.

Section 21 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 gives the term "any information or complaint" wide amplitude, so disciplinary proceedings need not depend on a formal written complaint. Rule 7 of the 2007 Rules was held to supplement the statute, not restrict it, and therefore could not narrow the statutory scope of information. A newspaper report by itself is not evidence and cannot, standing alone, justify action; however, where it merely triggers examination of other material such as a review report, disclosures, and applicable auditing standards, the Institute may have sufficient information to initiate inquiry. The challenge to jurisdiction failed because the initiation was based on adequate material.

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Issues: Whether the Institute could initiate disciplinary proceedings on its own motion on the basis of information gathered from external sources and whether the proceedings were without jurisdiction for want of a written complaint or other formal information under the statutory scheme.

Analysis: Section 21 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 uses the words "any information or complaint", and the Court held that "information" is of wide amplitude and is not confined to a formal complaint in writing. Rule 7 of the 2007 Rules was held to deal only with written information not in Form I and to supplement, not restrict, the parent statute. The Court further held that a newspaper report by itself is not evidence and cannot, standing alone, justify disciplinary action, but in the present case the reports merely triggered a further examination of the limited review report, the bank's disclosures, and the applicable auditing standards. On that material, the Institute had sufficient information to form the basis for inquiry, and the initiation was not vitiated for lack of jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The Institute was competent to proceed on its own motion on the basis of the material placed before it, and the challenge to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Under Section 21 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, "any information" includes material derived from external sources and may sustain suo motu disciplinary initiation; Rule 7 of the 2007 Rules cannot narrow that statutory width, though a mere newspaper report alone is insufficient without further cogent material.

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