law: Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 
  21. Procedure in inquiries relating to
  
  misconduct of members of Institute 
  (1) Where on receipt of information by, or a
  
  complaint made to it, the Council is prima facie of opinion that any member of the
  
  Institute has been guilty of any professional or other misconduct, the Council
  
  shall refer the case to the Disciplinary Committee constituted under section
  
  17, and the Disciplinary Committee shall thereupon hold such inquiry and in
  
  such manner as may be prescribed and shall report the result of its inquiry to
  
  the Council.
  (2) If on receipt of such report the Council
  
  finds that the member of the Institute is not guilty of any professional or
  
  other misconduct, it shall record its finding accordingly and direct that the
  
  proceedings shall be filed, or the complaint shall be dismissed, as the case
  
  may be.
  (3) If on receipt of such report the Council
  
  finds that the member of the Institute is guilty of any professional or other
  
  misconduct, it shall record a finding accordingly, and shall proceed in the
  
  manner laid down in the succeeding sub-sections.
  (4) Where the finding is that a member of the
  
  Institute has been guilty of a professional misconduct specified in the First
  
  Schedule, the Council shall afford to the member an opportunity of being heard
  
  before orders are passed against him on the case, and may thereafter make any
  
  of the following orders, namely,- 
  (a) reprimand the
  
  member;
  (b) remove the name of
  
  the member from the Register for such period, not exceeding five years, as the
  
  Council thinks fit:
  PROVIDED  that where the Council is of opinion
  
  that the case is one in which the name of the member ought to be removed from
  
  the Register for a period exceeding five years or permanently, it shall not
  
  make any order referred to in clause (a) or clause (b), but shall forward the
  
  case to the High Court with its recommendations thereon.
  (5) Where the misconduct in respect of which
  
  the Council has found any member of the Institute guilty is a misconduct other
  
  than any such misconduct as is referred to in sub-section (4), it shall forward
  
  the case to the High Court with its recommendations thereon.
  (6) On receipt of any case under sub-section
  
  (4) or sub-section (5), the High Court shall fix a date for the hearing of the
  
  case and shall cause notice of the date so fixed to be given to the member of
  
  the Institute concerned, the Council and to the Central Government, and shall
  
  afford such member, the Council and the Central Government an opportunity of being
  
  heard and may thereafter make any of the following orders, namely,- 
  (a) direct that the
  
  proceedings be filed, or dismiss the complaint, as the case may be;
  (b) reprimand the
  
  member;
  (c) remove him from membership
  
  of the Institute either permanently or for such period as the High Court thinks
  
  fit;
  (d) refer the case to
  
  the Council for further inquiry and report.
  (7) Where it appears to the court that the
  
  transfer of any case pending before it to another High Court, will promote the
  
  ends of justice or tend to the general convenience of the parties, it may so
  
  transfer the case, subject to such conditions, if any, as it thinks fit to
  
  impose, and the High Court to which such case is transferred shall deal with it
  
  as if the case had been forwarded to it by the Council.
  Explanation I: In this section
  
  "High Court" means the highest civil court of appeal, not including
  
  the Supreme Court, exercising jurisdiction in the area in which the person
  
  whose conduct is being inquired into carries on business, or has his principal
  
  place of business at the commencement of the inquiry:
  PROVIDED  that where the cases relating to two or
  
  more members of the Institute have to be forwarded by the Council to different
  
  High Courts, the Central Government shall, having regard to the ends of justice
  
  and the general convenience of the parties, determine which of the High Courts
  
  to the exclusion of others shall hear the cases against all the members.
  Explanation II: For the purposes of
  
  this section "member of the Institute" includes a person who was a
  
  member of the Institute on the date of alleged misconduct although he has
  
  ceased to be a member of the Institute at the time of the inquiry.
  (8) For the purposes of any inquiry under this
  
  section the Council and the Disciplinary Committee shall have the same powers
  
  as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of
  
  1908), in respect of the following matters,- 
  (a) summoning and
  
  enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
  (b) the discovery and
  
  production of any document; and
  (c) receiving evidence
  
  on affidavits.