By IANS
New Delhi : In a setback to private investors, the Delhi High Court Wednesday stayed a Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing authorities to bring the stock exchanges under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Justice B.D. Ahmed stayed the CIC's June 7 order on a petition by National Stock Exchange (NSE), while issuing notices to the market regulator, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the union ministry of finance and the CIC to file their replies.
The NSE had approached the high court, challenging the CIC's decision to open up the bourses under the new act.
Appearing for the NSE, senior counsel Gopal Subramanium argued that information under the RTI Act could be sought only from the government organizations or its agencies and not against a company.
The CIC had last month, on a plea by two investors against the NSE and the Jaipur Stock Exchange (JSE), directed all bourses to comply with RTI rules within three months. It had also directed two stock exchanges to put in place an RTI regime within a month.
The Commission had said that stock exchanges being quasi-governmental bodies working under the statute and exercising statutory powers have to be held a 'public authority' within the meaning of the RTI Act.
Subramanium contended that the NSE is a company incorporated under the Companies Act and the stock exchanges are private organizations and cannot be placed under the ambit of RTI Act.
Stock exchanges do not fit in the definition and their directors are not appointed by the government, he added.
Organisations which come within the ambit of RTI Act should be constituted, controlled and substantially funded by the central or the state government, he said.
The SEBI counsel submitted that the regulator is a government body and it monitored stock exchanges in the country.