Recent judicial pronouncements in matters involving the NSE have fundamentally altered the regulatory landscape for India's Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs). While delivered in different legal contexts, they establish an important principle. Institutions performing public functions cannot claim the privileges of private bodies to escape the obligations that accompany public duties.

The implications extend far beyond the NSE. They affect every exchange, clearing corporation, and depository. Unfortunately, SEBI has shown little institutional response to these landmark developments and appears to be asleep at the wheel. At a time when the government has consistently strengthened transparency, integrity, and public responsibility across institutions, SEBI increasingly appears to be a clear outlier. It also gives away the importance (or lack of it) SEBI gives to accountability when it comes to public servants.

Public Duty And Accountability

The first important development came when the Delhi High Court upheld the applicability of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) to officials of the NSE. More recently, the court rejected challenges to the prosecution of former NSE MD Chitra Ramkrishna, allowing the criminal proceedings under the PCA to continue. The court held that the relevant officials were discharging public duties within the meaning of the Act.

This is not merely another order in the long-running colocation saga; it marks a significant evolution in the law.

The PCA is founded on a simple principle: Corruption is punished not because a person works for the government but because he or she performs........

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