Bombay HC adjourns NSE-Moneylife matter to August 24

The country's largest exchange has sued the magazine with a Rs 100-cr defamation suit

The high court here on Friday adjourned a hearing in the Rs 100-crore defamation case filed by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) against media firm Moneylife. Meanwhile, court has asked both parties to give their replies.

NSE had filed a suit against Moneylife for “unsubstantiated and misleading reports” against it. The country’s biggest stock exchange is claiming over Rs 100 crore in damages and sought withdrawal of published reports.

 

Judge Gautam Patel, hearing the matter on Friday, observed defamation shouldn’t be used to gag the press. The judge also asked NSE why it didn't respond to the query sent by Moneylife before publishing the article.

NSE counsel Virag Tulzapurkar argued the article was defamatory and should not be republished.

Moneylife, in an article on its website earlier this month, alleged NSE officials were leaking sensitive data related to algorithmic trading to select market participants. It was based on an alleged complaint made to the Securities and Exchange Board of India in January by a Singapore-based hedge fund official.