Sunil Kanoria, who is Co-founder and Vice Chairman of crisis-ridden SREI Infrastructure Finance, has stepped down as Central Council Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He has been a government nominee to the Central Council of the CA Institute since 2016.

Kanoria confirmed this development when contacted by BusinessLine. He, however, maintained that this had nothing to do with the recent developments around SREI Infrastructure Finance and SREI Equipment Finance.

Slowdown: Srei not chasing growth, but focused on preserving profitability

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had last week superseded the Boards of SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd and SREI Equipment Finance Ltd for their failure to repay debts.

The National Company Law Tribunal ( NCLT) had on Friday admitted the insolvency pleas moved by the RBI against the two SREI group companies and appointed an administrator to run the two entities.

This move came after the Bombay High Court on October 7 dismissed SREI Group’s plea against RBI action on these two companies.

“This (stepping down from ICAI central council) has nothing to do with SREI. Institute work was a huge effort and I couldn’t travel to Delhi for the last one and a half years due to several reasons. I have not received any communication from MCA so far after I had conveyed my decision to them. I have been requesting for sometime now”, Kanoria said.

Asked about Kanoria’s status as a central council member, the CA Institute spokesperson said that Sunil Kanoria is a government nominee and that ICAI had not received any communication so far from the government on his stepping down.

Government nominees to the Central Council of ICAI are appointed by the government through Corporate Affairs Ministry ( MCA).

If any such government nominee were to resign, the resignation does not go to ICAI, sources added. If a person wants to be a government nominee, he cannot accept that position if he is a member of the CA Institute and holds a certificate of practice. In Kanoria’s case, he has not been a member and does not hold any certificate of practice.

The ICAI central council comprises of 40 members, of which 32 are elected by the chartered accountants and eight are nominated by the central government generally representing the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, MCA, Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders.

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