RTI Act applies to National Stock Exchange: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ruled that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India is a public authority under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act).

Being classified as a public authority makes the institution subject to the RTI Act.

A Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla upheld a 2010 judgement of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and rejected NSE's appeal against the judgement.

Justice Khanna had held that although the NSE was incorporated as a private company under the Companies Act, its recognition as a stock exchange under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, transformed it into an authority performing public functions.

He said that the recognition granted by the Central Government, later delegated to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), effectively constituted the NSE as an institution of self-government under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.

The single-judge also held that NSE is a body controlled by the Central government.

The NSE challenged the judgement before a Division Bench. It argued that it was incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, making it a private corporate entity rather than a government body.

The Division Bench stayed the single judge (Justice Khanna's) judgement on May 4, 2010.

In its final verdict today, it upheld the single-judge decision.

Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta with advocates Pranav Sarthi, Prachi Dhingra, Ishan Agrawal, Gandharv Garg, Jasleen Oberoi, Anshit Aggarwal, Mansvini Jain and Udit Bajpai appeared for the NSE.

The RTI applicant was represented through advocates Ashish Aggarwal, OP Faizi, Anand Aggarwal, Darshana Aggarwal, Nishtha Verma, Lisha Arora, Tanya Jain, Himanshu Singh, Ishita and Anjali.

CGSC BS Shukla and Dashmesh Tripathi represented the Union of India.