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The Supreme Court today (September 15) refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court's recent order, which held that the National Stock Exchange performs a vital economic function in the public interest, and therefore its officers are said to be performing public duty for the application of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Delhi High Court had dismissed the plea of the former CEO of the NSE, Chitra Ramkrishna, challenging the PC Act charges. It observed that NSE performs a public duty, which is well within the definition of 'public servant' under the PC Act. Therefore, Ramakrishna, in the internal management of the NSE, can be said to be performing a public duty, and how far she was in charge of the day-to-day functioning and general policy decisions of the NSE, including the act or contract complained of in the chargesheet, are matters of evidence in the trial.

A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran today upheld these observations, disposing of Ramakrishna's challenge to the High Court's order, observing that the issue whether she was performing a 'public duty' can be raised before the Trial Court.

The case arose from the NSE co-location matter where the Central Bureau of Investigation alleged that between 2010 and 2014, certain brokers received preferential access to the exchange's servers.

According to the chargesheets, Ramkrishna facilitated the design of a system that was susceptible to manipulation, allowing certain brokers to obtain preferential access to the exchange's servers. The agency also alleged that she abused her position in connection with the appointment and remuneration of Anand Subramanian.

After the trial court took cognisance of the chargesheets, Ramkrishna approached the High Court seeking to quash the proceedings.

Case : CHITRA RAMKRISHNA Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ANR. | SLP(Crl) No. 16425/2026 II-D


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