CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 13412 of 2010 (O&M) -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 13412 of 2010 (O&M) DATE OF DECISION: JANUARY 6, 2011 Om Pawan Kumar Singla .....Petitioner VERSUS Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and others ....Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RANJIT SINGH PRESENT: Mr. Anmol Rattan Sidhu, Sr. Advocate, with Mr. V.D. Goyal, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. M.L. Sarin, Senior Advocate with Mr. Arun Nehra, Advocate, for respondent No.1. Mr. Amit Rawal, Advocate, for respondent Nos.3 & 4. **** RANJIT SINGH, J. This writ petition is filed for issuing an appropriate writ, order or direction quashing the show cause notice dated 21.7.2010 issued to the petitioner. The prayer of the petitioner is that the said show cause notice is illegal, unconstitutional and against the principles of equity, good conscious and natural justice. While issuing notice, further proceedings pursuant to show cause notice were ordered to be stayed. The reply on CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 13412 of 2010 (O&M) -2- behalf of the respondents is filed. There is preliminary objection raised to the effect that writ petition against the show cause notice would not be maintainable and the petitioner would be at liberty to raise all the pleas including the malafides in response to the show cause notice and if any order adverse to the interest of the petitioner is passed, the same could be so challenged on all the legal grounds that are available to the petitioner. The counsel appearing for the petitioner is, therefore, asked to show if the writ petition can be maintained against a show cause notice, but he could not show if the show cause notice is bad for want of jurisdiction. A writ petition against the show cause notice can be maintained when the same is issued by any authority, which has no jurisdiction to act in the matter or any such or any other valid ground. Otherwise, the writ petition against the show cause notice is held not to be maintainable. Faced with this situation, counsel for the petitioner says that he may be given liberty to appear before the respondent- Authority and afforded an opportunity of hearing before any order is passed and some protection be granted to the petitioner to approach this Court again if any adverse order is passed against the interest of the petitioner. This prayer appears to be fair. The present writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of with the direction to respondents to afford opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner before passing any order. Let the petitioner appear CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 13412 of 2010 (O&M) -3- before the respondent-Authority on 20.1.2011. The respondent- Authority would be at liberty to pass any appropriate order in accordance with law. If any adverse order to the interest of the petitioner is passed, the same shall not be put into operation till two weeks from the date of passing of the order. At this stage, Mr. Sarin points out that the petitioner has sought supply of certain documents in reply filed by him. All those documents are annexed with the petition. The petitioner if still requires any document, he may ask for the same within a period of two days, which shall be supplied to him before affording him opportunity of personal hearing. January 6, 2011 ( RANJIT SINGH ) monika JUDGE