The Delhi High Court rules that the National Stock Exchange of India (NSEI) is a “public authority” under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, enabling citizens to seek information from the exchange. The decision comes as attention remains on NSEI’s much-discussed prospective public listing. According to reports, a bench of justices C Hari Shankar and O P Shukla dismisses NSEI’s appeal against an earlier single-judge ruling that had held NSEI qualified under section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
NSEI had argued that it is a private entity, not owned or controlled by the government, and that regulatory oversight by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) does not bring it within the RTI framework. The court, however, points to the RTI Act’s criteria that a body owned, controlled, or substantially financed by the government qualifies as a public authority. It also observes that NSEI is not merely a private company later regulated by statute. The bench notes that NSEI cannot function as a stock exchange without SEBI recognition, and it agrees with the earlier finding that NSEI is to be treated as established or constituted through an order issued in the relevant context.
