The Bombay High Court will on Wednesday hear former IL&FS auditor BSR & Associates’ plea challenging the constitutional validity of section 140 (5) of Companies Act under which the government is seeking to ban the KPMG affiliate firm for role in the alleged financial irregularities at the bankrupt company.

The NCLT will start hearing from September 5 the arguments based on merits for imposing five-year ban on the former IL&FS auditors, initiated by the ministry of corporate affairs.

On August 9, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had rejected the plea made by Deloitte Haskins and Sells and BSR Associates, who had challenged the tribunal’s jurisdiction to ban them for their omissions and commissions in the IL&FS Group fraud.

Deloitte had challenged the August 9 order before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) which refused to grant any stay on the NCLT proceedings. The appellate tribunal, however, asked the NCLT not to pass any order against the auditor. BSR Associates has also urged the high court to quash a criminal complaint filed against it by the Serious Fraud Investigation Organisation.

The financial affairs of the IL&FS group came under scrutiny last year after it defaulted on short-term and long-term debt obligations to the tune of `91,000 crore.