TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (2) TMI 87
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.... direction to Quash decision made by the President of the ICSI on 6th January, 2022 and RD-NIRO on 18^th January, 2022 affirming the decision of the President and subsequent alleged appointments of the Office Bearers; c) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction to Respondent No. 1 thereby directing the said Respondent to immediately allow the holding of the 259th Meeting (postponed meeting) scheduled for 18th January 2022 for appointment of the Office bearers for the term 19th January 2022 to 18th January 2023; Any other and further Order(s) as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case." 2. The petitioners being members of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India ('ICSI', for short, respondent No. 1 herein) established under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 ('Act of 1980', hereinafter), have filed this petition, inter alia, seeking directions quashing the meeting dated December 26, 2021, of the Northern India Regional Council ('NIRC', for short) of the ICSI and thereby rendering null and void the appointment of office bearers of NIRC made in the said meeting. 3. It is stated in t....
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....ed at the Meeting, and Notes on Agenda shall be given to the Directors (in the present context- members of NIRC) at least seven days before the date of meeting, unless the Articles prescribe a longer period. However, in the present case, the Agenda of the Meeting was communicated two days prior to the meeting i.e. 23rd December, 2021 and that too incomplete. Further, the Agenda did not had guidelines nor notes to show how such agenda items will be taken up or voting shall take place. The said guidelines were the heart and soul of the agenda notes, as these guidelines provide clarity regarding the various nuances of the election process including the process for nomination, voting if members are attending the meeting physically, electronically or in hybrid mode. In absence of such guidelines the elections can not be conducted, especially in these COVID times when members participate in hybrid mode. iii. Thirdly, there are discrepancies in Notice convening meeting. That the Notice issued on 18th December, 2021 for convening 259th meeting on 26th December, 2021 at 11:00 am only provided the facility to participate physically. The facility to participate through electronic mod....
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....not in due compliance to applicable provision of SS-1 and Regulations was deliberated and debated extensively. The views of members were divided, while few members were pressing for rescheduling the meeting after circulation of necessary agenda notes in compliance to applicable legal provisions and few supported for commencement of meeting for election of office bearers for 2022-23. ix. The import of Regulation 90 read with SS-1 clearly mandates that the agenda with complete agenda notes, mode of attendance and manner of voting in this case ought to have been sent 7 (seven) days in advance which was not the case in the present meeting." 6. The aforesaid concerns/violations pertaining to improper notice and incomplete agenda for meeting were objected to and brought to the notice of the Chairman by some members vide email dated December 25, 2021, with a request to reschedule the 259th meeting, and convene it after proper circulation of notice and agenda notes with all relevant details regarding voting/e-voting process in concurrence with SS-I. It is stated that however, no reply/response was received for the same. 7. On December 26, 2021, all seventeen members of the N....
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....f the elections nor had participated in the same, and as such their statutory right to present their candidature/nominations for the election were taken away. It is the case of the petitioners that the meeting, election and the result thereof are null and void being non-est in law. 9. It is further submitted that the aforesaid unconstitutional election process was brought to the notice of the President of the Central Council of the ICSI and other members of the Central Council vide emails dated December 27, 2021. 10. It is stated that in compliance of the statutory and regulatory provisions applicable, on December 31, 2021, the incumbent Chairman of NIRC, informed all the members that the postponed (259th) meeting shall be held on January 8, 2022 to elect the office bearers for the year 2022-2023. This communication was accompanied by agenda/notes on agenda along with summary of proceedings/discussions of the meeting held on December 26, 2021 and details pertaining to e-voting process, as mandated by the Regulations. No objections were received from any of the seventeen members either with regard to the re-convening of the postponed (259th) meeting on January 8, 2022, or with re....
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....ointment of newly elected office bearers with effect from January 19, 2022. It is also the averment of the petitioners that the President of ICSI has encroached upon the domain/jurisdiction of the members of NIRC by his arbitrary and illegal action. 15. That apart, it is stated that the incumbent Chairman of the NIRC vide email dated January 7, 2022 had called upon the Regional Director to generate and circulate the link for the postponed (259th) meeting scheduled to be held on January 8, 2022, a request which was not acceded to, resulting in further postponement of the once postponed (259th) meeting to January 18, 2022. 16. The petitioners vide email dated January 10, 2022 brought the above incident to the notice of the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India (respondent No. 2 herein) 17. It is also stated that on January 11, 2022, the Chairman of NIRC vide email, circulated the agenda of the postponed (259th) meeting scheduled to be conducted on January 18, 2022. SUBMISSIONS 18. Mr. Arun Kathpalia, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners has in his submissions, in addition to reemphasising the facts and contentions set fo....
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....violation of the Regulations of 1982 and SS-1, the same is liable to be set aside along with any decision taken thereof, of alleged appointment of office bearers. 22. That apart, he would also submit that the appointment of office bearers made on December 26, 2021 is illegal, as the meeting of December 26, 2021 was duly postponed by the Chairman in accordance with Regulation 91 of the Regulations of 1982, after the members present authorised him to take a decision on the issue. As such, any decision taken subsequent thereto is bad in law. The postponement of the meeting is corroborated by the email of the Chairman dated December 26, 2021 and the subsequent agenda issued by him on December 31, 2021. Furthermore, no objections were raised by anyone including the respondent Nos. 4 to 7, on the draft proceedings of December 26, 2021. 23. It is also stated that the interference and action by the President and the Secretary of the ICSI are unlawful and without any authority. He stated that the President of ICSI has no power/authority for entertaining any referral or adjudicating any issue and as such, the communication dated January 6, 2022 and January 7, 2022 are bad in law. In th....
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....1982, which mandate five days' prior intimation on advancement/postponement of meetings. Thereafter, on December 23, 2021, even the web-link to attend the meeting was also shared, as it was decided in the meeting dated December 20, 2021 to conduct the election in a hybrid manner. No objection was raised by anyone with regard to the scheduled meeting from December 20, 2021 till December 25, 2021. The objection was made only at 10.38 PM on December 25, 2021, i.e., eleven hours before the meeting, which shows the mala fide intent of the petitioners. 26. It is submitted that it is an admitted fact that all seventeen members joined together for the meeting at 9:30 AM on December 26, 2021. Mr. Chandhiok poses a question as to why the members would even meet if they presumed the meeting to be illegal. The petitioners could not muster the majority and therefore have taken all subsequent steps including the present petition in an attempt to scuttle the due election process conducted under the observation of the respondent No. 1 and an independent officer, as has been done in the other three Regional Councils of ICSI. He states that this is the reason as to why three out of the eight memb....
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....e registered address of every member of the Council ordinarily not less than seven days before such meeting and such notice shall, so far as practicable, contain a statement of the business to be transacted thereof, provided that in the case of a special meeting, the President may inform the members at the meeting of the subject matter for discussion. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-regulation (1) a special meeting called under Regulation 89 may be convened giving such shorter notice as circumstances may permit." The words used in the said provisions are 'ordinarily not less than seven days'. It is the submission of Mr. Chandhiok that the word 'ordinarily' means 'of a kind to be expected in the normal order of events', and further, what is mandated to be served in business to be transacted 'as far as practicable', has been served vide email dated December 18, 2021. 30. It is submitted that there is a clear gap of five days from the date of notice of advancement of the 259th meeting, i.e., December 20, 2021 and the date of the meeting, i.e., December 26, 2021, and as such, it conforms to Regulation 91 of the Regulations of 1982 pertaining to notice perio....
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....e and place as the President may appoint and at the adjourned meeting the members present shall constitute the quorum to transact the business intended to be transacted at the original meeting. 94. Voting on resolution at a meeting and casting vote.- At all meetings of the Council, in the event of a difference of opinion on any matters the vote of the majority shall prevail unless otherwise required by the Act or these regulations, and in the case of equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to his original vote. 95. Adjournment of meeting of the Council.- (1) Subject to the provisions of these regulations, the Chairman of any meeting of the Council, may, with the consent of the members present at meeting, adjourn the meeting from time to time and from place to place but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place unless not less than five days notice of any other business to be transacted at such adjourned meeting has been given to the members. (2) If no new business is intended to be transacted at an adjourned meeting unl....
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....ICSI. The Resolution is mere a recommendation and not a Resolution of Adoption. The Provisions of the Regulations of 1982 are specifically applicable to ICSI and therefore, the same is being followed at the Regional Council meetings mutatis mutandis. Hence, the Provisions of the Regulations of 1982 relating to meeting of the Regional Councils will override the provisions of SS-I, which have no legal sanctity in view of specific Regulations present in this regard. 36. That apart, Mr. Chandhiok would further submit that the fact that the petitioner No.1 did not attend the meeting dated December 20, 2021 cannot be held against the respondents. The argument of the petitioner No.1 that he did not attend the Regional Council meeting held on December 20, 2021 and hence was not aware of the voting procedure is faulty because he was served with the notice and agenda of the meeting on December 10, 2021 which contained a comprehensive process as to how the election was to be conducted. Moreover, the quorum was present in the meeting, and the decision taken therein is binding on all members, whether they attended the meeting or not. 37. It is also submitted that the petitioner No.1 himse....
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....e fact that the Regional Director / Returning Officer is an independent officer who has made a detailed report of the election and presented the same to ICSI. Instead, the petitioners with mala fide intent filed and relied upon the report of the Chairman, who was one of the voters and an interested party in the election who also walked out of the meeting of December 26, 2021. The petitioners have also deliberately abstained from filing the communication of ICSI dated January 9, 2022 containing the details of the newly elected office bearers of all four Regional Councils, sent to all members of ICSI, amounting to nearly 70,000. 41. Furthermore, it is his contention that it is clear from reading of report of the Regional Director / Returning Officer and the improper walkout by the minority faction, the petitioners wanted to discredit and wriggle out of the due election process, and to scuttle the free and fair election sought to be continued by the majority faction under the observation of an independent Returning Officer. Notwithstanding the above, after having made allegations against the Chairman of NIRC and assailing the notice and agenda initially issued by him, the petitione....
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....out of seventeen Council members. The minutes of the said meeting evidently clarifies that the members had unanimously resolved that "election procedure followed last year may be followed for the election in year 2022" and also records that the procedure for online voting was also placed before the Council. The petitioners have no grievance qua this meeting as is evident from their assertion that the voting process was decided in the 258th meeting. That apart, petitioner No.1 was privy to the election procedure vide 252nd meeting of NIRC held on January 19, 2021 and cannot be allowed to approbate and reprobate his stand. The petitioners on their own showing also knew that SS-I was not compulsory as no objection has been raised regarding the 258th meeting wherein notice was served on December 10, 2021, agenda was served on December 17, 2021, and the meeting itself was held on December 20, 2021. This is indicative of mala fide on part of the petitioners especially against respondent Nos.4 and 6. 44. As far as the changing of the timing of the meeting dated December 26, 2021 is concerned, Mr. Rao stated that the same is irrelevant as the petitioners and indeed, all seventeen members o....
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....ort of the Regional Director / Returning Officer in Paragraph 2 clarifies that the Chairman announced that necessary quorum was present. Once the meeting has commenced, the same can be adjourned only in compliance of Regulation 95 of the Regulations of 1982. Upon the purported walkout of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman took the Chair in compliance of Regulation 92 of the Regulations of 1982, and thereafter the quorum was reconfirmed whereafter nine members took up the agenda of election. The result was duly and validly declared by the Returning Officer. That apart, as per Regulation 119 of the Regulations of 1982, the Regional Council determines the election finally and the same is only conveyed to respondent No.1. The petitioners have deliberately ignored the fact that the process has to be completed on or before December 31, 2021 as per Regulation 119(2) of the Regulations of 1982. 47. Mr. Rao would also state that the petition suffers from non-rejoinder of parties as the incumbent Chairman has not been arrayed as a party. Similarly, the members, other than the petitioners and respondents herein, were also not made parties to the petition. 48. The petitioner Nos.1, 2 and 4 are....
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....y the email dated December 25, 2021 where the fact has already been highlighted. The said issue of what transpired on December 20, 2021 and how the voting mechanism was to be placed was neither part of the notice of December 20, 2021 nor the agenda of December 23, 2021. If the same was decided, then it ought to have been placed in the agenda. However, it was not even placed before the Council in the meeting on December 26, 2021. Even the draft minutes of the meeting of December 20, 2021 admittedly were circulated only on January 3, 2022, i.e., after eight days of the meeting. 55. It is the submission of Mr. Kathpalia that the meeting of December 26, 2021 was adjourned in terms of Regulation 91 of the Regulations of 1982, and not in terms of Regulation 95 of the Regulations of 1982, as claimed by the respondents. 56. Contesting the submission of the respondents that as majority of the members were present, the quorum was formed and subsequently elections were rightly conducted, he would state that even though majority of members were present, no meeting could take place as per Regulation 91 of the Regulations of 1982, as the Chairman had already postponed the meeting. Further,....
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....e members of Central Council, the same is not applicable to the appointment of office bearers of NIRC. Insofar as the email dated December 26, 2021 is concerned, Mr. Kathpalia would state that the same was not shared with any of the petitioners until the first date of hearing of this petition in this Court. Therefore, the allegation of suppression of facts is completely misplaced. Further, the said email relied upon by the respondents in Paragraphs 4 and 5 states that the meeting was postponed by the Chairman, which is in contradiction to their contention of the meeting being adjourned. 59. Having heard the learned counsels for the parties and perused the record including the written submissions filed by them, at the outset, I may state that it is a conceded case of the parties that the NIRC consists of seventeen members, out of which, twelve are elected members and five are co-opted members, whose tenure is for four years, i.e., till January 18, 2023. The subject matter of the petition is the election to the posts of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of NIRC, who are elected for one year and in this case the period is from December 19, 2022 to January 18, 2023. ....
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....e draft proceedings of December 26, 2021 circulated by the Chairman on December 31, 2021. xii. The interference by the President and Secretary of the ICSI is uncalled for as no power / authority exist with them for entertaining any referral or for adjudicating the issue and as such, the communications of January 6 and January 7, 2022 are bad in law. Applicability of SS-I to NIRC meetings 62. Having noted the broad submissions made by Mr. Kathpalia, at the outset, I intend to deal with his submission on the applicability of SS-I to the meeting of NIRC. Mr. Kathpalia had relied upon the minutes of the meeting of January 23, 2016 to contend that the SS-I was adopted by the NIRC in its 226th meeting held on that day. He has also relied upon the minutes of the 248th meeting held on May 25, 2019. Appropriate shall be, relevant parts of the minutes of the aforesaid meetings be reproduced as under: 226th meeting held on January 23, 2016. "MINUTES OF 226th MEETING OF THE REGIONAL COUNCIL OF NIRC HELD ON SATURDAY, THE 23RD JANUARY, 2016 AT 12.30 PM AT NIRC OFFICE, 4 PRASAD NAGAR INSTITUTIONAL AREA, NEW DELHI Present: 1. CS Manish Gupta : Cha....
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....airman, NIRC-ICSI and the Regional Director, NIRC-ICSI to take necessary action in this regard. RESOLVED FURTHER THAT the Regional Council hereby recommend to the Council of ICSI to consider compulsory adoption of SS-I for the Meetings of all the Chapters and Regions to ensure better compliance, transparency, good governance and smooth functioning of Chapters and the Regions. RESOLVED FURTHER THAT the Regional Council further authorized Chairman, NIRC-ICSI and the Regional Director, NIRC-ICSI to take necessary action in this regard"." 63. The pleas of Mr. Chandhiok, Mr. Rao, Mr. Kalavatiya and Mr. Singhi on this submission of Mr. Kathpalia was that SS-I is inapplicable, as it is clear from the minutes of the meeting dated May 25, 2019 that the same was merely a recommendation for adoption by chapters and regions of ICSI for their meetings, and not a resolution of adoption. Secondly, the scope of SS-I clearly states that the same shall be applicable to the meetings of committees unless otherwise stated therein or stipulated in any other applicable guidelines, rules or regulations. So, in the case of a conflict, the Regulations of 1982 shall prevail. Having noted....
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....that would prevail. To consider this submission, it is necessary to reproduce the relevant provisions of SS-I and the Regulations of 1982 on which reliance has been placed by the counsels for the parties in their submissions as under: Regulations of 1982 SS-I 90. Notice of Council meeting.- (1) Notice of the time and place of every meeting shall be sent to the registered address of every member of the Council ordinarily not less than seven days before such meeting and such notice shall, so far as practicable, contain a statement of the business to be transacted thereof, provided that in the case of a special meeting, the President may inform the members at the meeting of the subject matter for discussion. 1.3.4 The Notice shall inform the Directors about the option available to them to participate through Electronic Mode and provide them all the necessary information. If a Director intends to participate through Electronic Mode, he shall give sufficient prior intimation to the Chairman or the Company Secretary to enable them to make suitable arrangements in this behalf. The Director may intimate his intention of participation through Electronic Mode at the beginni....
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....the meeting shall be supported by a note setting out the details of the proposal, relevant material facts that enable the members to understand the meaning / scope and implications of the proposal and the nature of concern or interest, if any, of any member in the proposal. 66. A perusal of the provisions of the Regulations of 1982 on which reliance has been placed by the counsels for the parties, i.e., Regulations 90, 91, 94, 95, 114 and 119 etc. reveal the following: i. Notice of the time and place of every meeting shall be sent to the registered address of every member of the Council ordinarily not less than seven days before such meeting and such notice, so far as practicable, shall contain a statement of the business to be transacted thereof. ii. Any meeting of the Council to be convened at a particular date or dates may be advanced or postponed by the Chairman to a specific date or dates not exceeding thirty days from the date originally determined for the meeting. iii. The advancement or postponement can also include change of time and place of meeting. iv. The agendas of such meeting shall be sent to the registered address of every mem....
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....he issue of agenda, the Regulations only contemplate, as far as practicable, a statement of the business to be transacted be provided, unlike the SS-I, which stipulates, agenda and agenda notes be mandatorily sent seven days prior to the meeting. In this instance as well, a discretion has been conferred on the Chairman by the provisions of the Regulations of 1982 to, as far as practicable, send a statement of the business to be transacted to the members. Even if it is not sent, the same is not fatal. The above is not to be construed to mean that the SS-I should not be followed at all. If in a given case it is followed, the same shall be proper / justified. In other words, if a notice of less than seven days is given along with a statement of the business to be transacted, the same shall not be held to be illegal merely because the notice of not less than seven days along with the agenda and agenda notes have not been sent. Validity / Legality of the meeting of December 26, 2021 69. Now, it is necessary to determine whether the meeting dated December 26, 2021 is illegal, on the facts of the case. To answer this issue, it is necessary to consider the notices/communications issu....
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.... / guidelines. December 26, 2021 E-mail of the petitioner No.4 stating that he joined the meeting of December 26, 2021 through video conferencing. There were several issues raised regarding the validity of the meeting and upon request of all members, the Chairman declared postponement of the meeting. Thereafter members started leaving the meeting and accordingly he too left the meeting. December 26, 2021 E-mail of the petitioner No. 1 to the Chairman and the Regional Director, stating that a discussion had taken place on the validity of the meeting and whether proper notice and agenda was provided or not. A request was also made to schedule the postponed meeting after addressing the concerns raised. December 26, 2021 E-mail of the petitioner No. 4 to the petitioner No. 1, the Chairman and other members, providing his view on the discrepancies in the meeting of December 26, 2021. He states that- (i) the said meeting is defective as the communication regarding the said meeting was only made on December 20, 2021 and SS-I has not been complied with, as the notice had not specified the mode of participation; (ii) no....
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....cessary directions for convening the postponed meeting after due compliance. December 29, 2021 E-mail of the respondent No. 4 to the President of ICSI requesting a meeting with him to apprise on the issue. December 30, 2021 E-mail of the Regional Director to the Secretary of ICSI seeking directions with regard to the advisory of the Chairman to circulate the agenda and draft proceedings for the postponed meeting. December 30, 2021 E-mail from the Secretary of ICSI to the Regional Director stating that the matter regarding election of office bearers in NIRC for the year 2022 has been referred to ICSI HQ and is being scrutinised. The Regional Director was advised not to consider any matter relating to the same until further directions from ICSI HQ. December 31, 2021 E-mail of the Chairman to the members stating that the postponed 259th meeting is scheduled to be held on January 8, 2022 at 11 AM to elect the office bearers for the year 2022 to hold office w.e.f. January 19, 2022. The agenda/notes on agenda were enclosed therewith. January 1, 2022 E-mail of the President of ICSI to the petitioner No. 1 stating that....
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.... On raising concern by one of Regional Council Member, Motto Song was played as it was inadvertently left to be played earlier. 4. Some of the Members present requested the Chairman to take-up the agenda item for election of the Office Bearers as sufficient discussion had taken place for almost two hours. Some of the members requested Chairman to postpone the meeting. 5. Chairman CS Vimal Gupta instructed to reschedule the meeting and declared the meeting postponed. 6. Many Members present stated that postponement/adjournment of meeting cannot be sustained under Regulation 95 of CS Regulations 1982 as the Chairman did not adjourn the meeting with the consent of the members present at the meeting. It was quoted that as per the Regulation 95 "Subject to the provisions of these regulations, the Chairman of any meeting of the Council, may, with the consent of the members present at meeting, adjourn the meeting from time to time and from place to place but ...............". 7. Thereafter, CS Vimal Gupta, Chairman, NIRC and some Other members left the Council Meeting Room. 8. Since the Chairman left the meeting, the members p....
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....lia that the notice was not accompanied by the agenda and agenda notes is not sustainable on facts. I may at this stage state that on December 23, 2021, the following agenda note was sent to the members: "AGENDA ITEM NO.2 TO ELECT THE OFFICE BEARERS OF THE REGIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 2022 (TO BE EFFECTIVE FORM 19TH JANUARY, 2022 TO 18^TH JANUARY 2023) I) Election of the Chairman After Election of the Chairman, following resolution may be passed: "Resolved that CS_______________ be and is hereby elected as the Chairman of the Northern Regional Council of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India for the year 2022 (for the period from 19.01.2022 to 18.01.2023). II) Election of the Vice-Chairman After Election of the Vice-Chairman, following resolution may be passed: "Resolved that CS______________ be and is hereby elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Northern Regional Council of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India for the year 2022 (for the period from 19.01.2022 to 18.01.2023). III) Election of the Secretary After Election of the Secretary, following resolution may be passed: ....
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.... The Regional Council further noted that ICSI Head Office has verbally clarified that the Regional Council has to decide on the procedure to be followed for election of office bearers. The Regional Council further noted that the Executive Committee in its meting held on 10th December, 2021 discussed on the Election of Office Bearers of Regional Council and suggested that the election procedure as followed last year may be followed for Election of Office Bearers of Regional Council for the year 2022 and recommended the same to the Regional Council. The Committee also advised to check with concerned Directorate of Head Office for SOP and modalities of online voting. The proposed procedure for Election of Office Bearers of Reginal Council and the SOP as received from Dte. of IT, Head Office for online voting was placed before the Regional Council. Some of the members expressed that there was no need to bring this Agenda in the Meeting as there were modalities already in place, there is set procedure which had been tested and followed last year. It was also expressed that whether we should keep this item as already expressed by some other members that there is ....
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.... words, the other twelve members have no grievance with regard to the meeting held on December 26, 2021 wherein the office bearers were elected. It is not known why the Chairman was not made a party in the proceedings when, much of the submissions made by Mr. Kathpalia were on the manner in which the notices for the meeting on December 26, 2021 were issued and also, that the Chairman had adjourned the proceedings of the meeting held on December 26, 2021, at the asking of all the members present, a stand which has been denied by the respondent Nos. 4 to 7 herein. Advancement of timing of the 259th meeting from 11AM to 9.30AM 76. A reading of Regulation 91 of the Regulations of 1982 would reveal, any advancement or postponement of the time or date of a meeting must be intimated not less than five days prior to the meeting. Admittedly, the timing of the meeting of December 26, 2021 was advanced from 11 AM to 9.30 AM on December 20, 2021, which is six days before the scheduled meeting of December 26, 2021. Even the plea of Mr. Kathpalia that petitioner No.1 and two co-opted members were not part of the meeting, would not nullify the decision, as fourteen members were present, who we....
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....ers stayed back to continue the meeting. This report of the Regional Director / Returning Officer of December 26, 2021 is not under challenge. I may also state here that it is the case of the petitioners that they have not received the report of the Regional Director / Returning Officer till the first date of hearing of this petition. This plea is unmerited for the reason that on January 7, 2022 the ICSI had notified to its 70000 members, the result of the election of the functionaries with respect to all Regional Councils. It is not the case of the petitioners that they were not privy to such notification, and additionally they have not challenged the said notification. Powers of the President / Secretary of ICSI 78. The plea of Mr. Kathpalia, that the President and the Secretary of ICSI have no authority to adjudicate the dispute with regard to the elections of the functionaries of NIRC, though justified in the absence of any regulation in that regard, but in view of the fact that it was the petitioner No.1 who had through his e-mail dated December 27, 2021 brought to the notice of the President, the manner in which the meeting of December 26, 2021 wherein the election of o....