A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja held that the NSE performs a public function and that the role of its MD and CEO cannot be separated from the functions discharged by the exchange, in which the public has a significant interest, Bar and Bench reported.
Court upholds prosecution sanction
Rejecting Ramkrishna’s arguments, the Bench observed that it found no merit in the petition.
“We have rejected your submission on the sanction order. We do not find any merit in the present petition. The same, along with applications, is accordingly dismissed,” the court said.
Ramkrishna had challenged Sections 2(b) and 2(c)(viii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Section 2(b) defines “public duty” as a duty in the discharge of which the State, the public or the community at large has an interest, while Section 2(c)(viii) includes within the definition of a public servant any person who holds an office by virtue of which they are authorised or required to perform a public duty.
CBI allegations
Ramkrishna is an accused in the alleged NSE co-location scam
, in which the CBI has alleged a criminal conspiracy that provided undue advantage to select trading members and brokers.
The agency has also accused her of repeatedly revising the designation and compensation of former NSE employee Anand Subramanian in a disproportionate manner.
The case stems from a February 11 order passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which alleged financial irregularities in the fixation and repeated revision of Subramanian’s compensation. Ramkrishna has also been accused of acting in consultation with a person she described as a “Siddha Purusha.”
According to the CBI, Subramanian, while performing a public duty to safeguard the interests of investors, entered into a criminal conspiracy with other accused persons, resulting in significant benefits to certain trading members and brokers. The agency has termed the matter a serious economic offence.
The CBI has further alleged that Ramkrishna exchanged emails with a person she referred to as a Himalayan Yogi, who the agency later claimed was Subramanian, Bar and Bench reported. The High Court’s ruling clears the way for the prosecution to continue in the case.
What is the NSE co-location case?
In August 2009, the National Stock Exchange introduced its co-location facility, allowing brokers to place their servers within the exchange’s data centre for a fee.
By locating their servers closer to the NSE’s systems, these brokers received market data fractions of a second faster than others, enabling quicker execution of trades and giving them a competitive advantage.
