Delhi HC dismisses Chitra Ramkrishna's plea, says NSE performs public duty

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by Chitra Ramkrishna, former managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), holding that the exchange performs a public duty.

Consequently, the division bench led by Justice Naveen Chawla held that Ramkrishna, in her capacity as managing director, also performed a public duty and that her role could not be separated from the functions of the NSE.

Ramkrishna had challenged the definitions of "public duty" and "public servant" under the Prevention of Corruption Act.


She argued that the definitions of "public duty" and "public servant" were overly broad and had been expanded to prosecute individuals who were not public servants but were privately employed, like her.

Ramkrishna contended that although the NSE is a company registered under the Companies Act, she had been categorised as a public servant. She also challenged the sanction granted by the exchange's board to the investigating agency to prosecute her in the co-location case.

However, the court clarified that any observations made in its judgment would not influence the proceedings before the trial court.