NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the bail granted to former chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Chitra Ramkrishna, in a case related to alleged illegal phone tapping of NSE employees.
Justice Madhu Jain rejected the CBI's plea challenging a trial court's December 22, 2022 order granting her relief in the case.
In its appeal, the CBI claimed that the trial court erred in granting bail to Ramkrishna since the case was of a sensitive nature.
The CBI alleged that top officials of NSE, including Ramkrishna, conspired with iSec Private Limited to cheat the NSE and its employees, and in furtherance of this criminal conspiracy, the company was hired for illegal interception of NSE employees' phone calls.
Ramkrishna was appointed as Joint MD OF NSE in 2009 and remained in the position till March 31, 2013. She got elevated as MD and CEO on April 1, 2013. Her tenure at NSE ended in December 2016.
Previously, the Delhi HC had dismissed a petition on July 9, 2026, filed by Ramkrishna challenging the constitutional validity of the definitions of "public duty" and "public servant" under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act), holding that the NSE performs functions of public importance and its top executive cannot be divorced from those functions.
The bench held that the NSE discharges a public duty and that Ramkrishna, as its MD and CEO during the relevant period, cannot be wholly separated from the functions performed by the exchange in which the public at large has a significant interest.
The bench also rejected Ramkrishna's challenge to the sanction granted for her prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
