The respondent, a Chartered Accountant, was found to have assisted various companies in availing large credit facilities from banks by issuing false certificates regarding the valuation of work, sales registers, and supply bills. A complaint was made by the CBI. The Institute’s Disciplinary Committee found that the respondent could not produce any working papers, documents, or any other basis to show he had exercised due diligence before issuing the certificates. The respondent himself pleaded guilty to the misconduct before the Committee. The Council of the Institute held the respondent guilty of professional misconduct and recommended to the High Court that he be reprimanded. Upholding the findings, the High Court held that certifying facts without verification from relevant documents is totally unprofessional and negligent, amounting to misconduct. It observed that the respondent was aware that financial institutions rely on such professional certificates for their due diligence, and issuing them without proper valuation was a fraud on the banks. Accordingly, the Court accepted the Council’s recommendation and reprimanded the respondent under section 21(6)(b) of the Act.