Co-location case: CBI court dismisses default bail pleas of ex-NSE CEO, CFO

The Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday dismissed the default bail applications of Chitra Ramkrishna and Anand Subramanian in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) co-location case.

The Special CBI Judge Rakesh Kumar on Saturday dismissed both default bail pleas moved by Chitra Ramkrishna, Ex- CEO and MD of NSE and Anand Subramanian former Group Operating office (GOO) of National Stock Exchange.

Both accused are presently in Judicial custody and recently moved default bail on the ground stated that the sanction, in this case, is still awaited from the competent authority.

The court recently also directed the investigation officer to expedite the matter and file sanctions on or before the next date of hearing while put up for consideration on

05.07.2022.

Chitra Ramakrishna and Anand Subramanian's regular bail petitions were earlier dismissed by the trial court. Chitra Ramkrishna's bail has also moved to Delhi High Court challenging the trial court denying bail to her.

Trial Court while denying bail to Chitra Ramkrishna earlier said, "It appears that accused Chitra Ramkrishna prima facie seems to have been running the affairs of NSE akin to that of a private club; singer writer, Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan once said 'money doesn't talk, it swears', which is a song of, 1964 song album "It's Alright Ma I'm Only Bleeding", means that money not only has influence, but it has great influence, even a perverse influence on people."

The financial world including The FIIs is waiting with bated breath for NSE to redeem itself so that they can fly to this country for investment in droves, which is at present, a brilliant destination for investment, the court said.

With regard to affairs of NSE at the relevant time, it would not be out of place to observe herein that there comes a time in a lifetime of an institution, where it finds itself at crossroads, then it should take a path which is a right path to restore its glory, rather than burying the skeletons, which may later turn into Frankenstein monsters, said the trial court judge.

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

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 stockbrokers. Earlier, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) 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.