NSE Case: Court Defers Order On Bail Pleas Of Chitra Ramkrishna, Arvind Subramanian

A Special Court on Monday deferred passing the order on bail petitions of Chitra Ramkrishna and Arvind Subramanian in connection with the NSE co-location case for May 12.

Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal on April 28, kept the order reserved and said that arguments were heard at length on bail application u/s 439 CrPC moved on behalf of accused Chitra Ramkrishna and concluded. Further arguments were also heard at length on the second bail application of Arvind Subramanian filed U/S 437/439 CrPC moved on behalf of the accused and concluded.

CBI recently had arrested Chitra Ramkrishna a former managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Anand Subramanian as Group Operating Officer and Advisor to MD in connection with the NSE co-location case.

CBI in its reply in court had stated that the applicant Chitra Ramkrishna is highly influential and may tamper with the documentary/ digital evidence and manipulate the witnesses if released on bail. The petitioner was a high ranking official of NSE during the relevant period. Incriminating evidence has already come to the fore against her. The consequences of granting bail will adversely affect the investigation.

CBI in its reply also stated that the examination of other witnesses is underway to unearth the conspiracy related to the co-location set-up and the role played by the applicant Chitra Ramkrishna therein. She was looking into the day to day affairs and the entire Co-location setup that was implemented during her tenure at NSE. There are apprehensions that she may sway the witnesses if enlarged on bail.

Reply also stated that the case pertains to the allegations against senior officials of the NSE where undue gains have been made by trading members by abusing the co-location facility. Investigation into the role and responsibility of top officials in facilitating unfair access to the Co-Location setup is underway.

In the National Stock Exchange Co-Location case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that the investigation states that accused Chitra Ramakrishna, by misusing her official position, re-designated the post of accused Anand Subramanian as Group Operating Officer and Advisor to MD from April 1, 2015, without bringing the same to the notice of NRC and the board.

The CBI is probing the alleged improper dissemination of information from the computer servers of the market exchanges to the stock brokers.

Earlier, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has penalized the National Stock Exchange and its former CEOs Chitra Ramakrishna and Ravi Narayan and two other officials for lapses in recruitment at the senior level.

Ravi Narain was the MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange from April 1994 till March 2013, while Chitra Ramkrishna was the MD and CEO of the NSE from April 2013 to December 2016.

The market regulators observed that the NSE and its top executives violated securities contract norms relating to the appointment of Anand Subramaniam as group operating officer and advisor to the managing director.