- The Supreme Court approved the settlement between NSE and SEBI on co-location and dark fibre issues
- The dispute involved allegations of unfair advantages for certain high-frequency traders at NSE
- NSE paid Rs 1,491.21 crore to SEBI under the consent mechanism as part of the settlement
The Supreme Court has brought the National Stock Exchange's long-running co-location and dark fibre dispute to a close by allowing the settlement reached between NSE and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), ending one of the most closely watched regulatory cases in India's capital markets history.
The settlement concludes a controversy that has lingered for nearly a decade and centred on allegations that certain high-frequency traders received faster access to NSE's trading infrastructure and market data feeds, giving them an unfair advantage over other market participants.
Investigations had also examined the use of so-called dark fibre connectivity allegedly provided to select trading members.
As part of the settlement, NSE paid Rs 1,491.21 crore under SEBI's consent mechanism. With the Supreme Court disposing of the pending proceedings and SEBI closing the related enforcement actions, the legal and regulatory uncertainty hanging over the exchange has largely been removed.
The relief comes as NSE's much awaited initial public offering (IPO) is open for subscription.
The Rs 22,568.94 crore worth NSE IPO, priced Rs 1,700-1,785 per share, opened on September 17 and will close on September 21.
NSE IPO is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) of 12.64 crore shares by existing shareholders, with no fresh issue. The issue has been subscribed 95% so far on September 18, the second day of the bidding process.
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