NSE is a public authority under RTI Act, rules Delhi High Court
According to Bar and Bench, a bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla upheld the 2010 judgment of then Delhi High Court judge Sanjiv Khanna and dismissed NSE’s appeal against the order.
The Bar and Bench submitted that Justice Khanna believed 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 discharging public functions.
The judgment also held that the recognition granted by the Central government and subsequently transferred to the Securities and Exchange Board of India effectively constitutes the NSE as a self-governing institution under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. Justice Khanna also held that NSE is a body controlled by the Central government, the Bar and Bench said.
NSE had challenged the decision before the Divisional Bench, arguing that since its inception under the Companies Act, 1956, it remained a private legal entity and not a government body. Bar and Bench submitted that the Division Bench remained a single judge decision on May 4, 2010.
According to the Bar and Bench, in its final judgment on Wednesday, the Division Bench upheld the 2010 order and brought NSE within the purview of the RTI Act.
Bar and Bench reported that Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta has joined NSE along with a team of lawyers. The RTI petitioner was represented by lawyers led by Ashish Aggarwal and OP Faizi, while the Central government’s standing counsel BS Shukla and Dashmesh Tripathi appeared on behalf of the Union government.
