The clock is ticking for Talluri Srinivas, an auditor caught up in the multi-crore Satyam accounting fraud. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the apex body for accounting professionals in India, is all set to initiate disciplinary action against Srinivas, post October 3, as per a direction given by a bench of the Supreme Court as the criminal trail of the special court, set up for the Satyam scam case, may conclude its hearing by then.

Besides Talluri Srinivas, who is out on bail, three others -- Subramani Gopalakrishnan, Vadlamni Srinivas, former CFO, and V Prabhakar Gupta, former internal auditor -- are still behind bars. The bench of Justices D K Jain and A K Ganguly in its direction clarified that if the Hyderabad-based special court does not complete its trial by then, ICAI could commence its proceedings against the Talluri Srinivas, the former Price Waterhouse auditor.

G Ramaswamy, president, ICAI told TOI here that a committee headed by him which was conducting investigation against the auditors had completed hearing of witnesses against Srinivas. "We could have completed the process earlier but for legal recourse sought by him. Talluri who lost the case in High Court, then approached the SC, only to have his SLP quashed there, paving the way for disciplinary hearing against him," Ramaswamy said.

About S Gopalakrishan, Ramaswamy said: "He is behind bars (in Hyderabad jail). There is no response to notices sent to him to appear before the ICAI committee (for a disciplinary hearing," he said, adding: "There is nothing much ICAI can do about it. In case of Talluri, ICAI will abide by the SC directions and ensure that the date fixed by it (ICAI) for (the disciplinary) hearing does not clash with the trial of the special court in Hyderabad."

The SC direction came on a petition filed by Srinivas, requesting the court to stay ICAI action as he was facing a similar case in the special court simultaneously. Earlier, Delhi HC had dismissed Talluri's plea to stall the inquiry and directed ICAI to proceed against him and Gopalakrishnan, former auditor of Price Waterhouse Coopers. After the Satyam scandal broke out in January 2009, ICAI had framed four auditors for professional misconduct. (Times of India)