NSE files appeal in HC against order on fine

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court seeking a review of its order slapping a Rs 50 lakh fine on the bourse in a Rs 100 crore defamation suit filed by it against an online news portal for publishing allegedly false reports on algorithm (algo) trading mechanism on its platform.
NSE has filed a review petition and also sought a stay on the September 9 order of the High Court which had ordered the stock exchange to pay the fine.
While the review petition is expected to come up in due course, the plea seeking a stay on the fine is likely to be heard on September 21.

Justice Gautam Patel, while rejecting the notice of motion moved by NSE in its defamation suit, on September 9, had asked the stock exchange to pay Rs 1.5 lakh each to two persons who run the portal.
The Judge also ordered NSE to pay another Rs 47 lakh as punitive damages to Tata Memorial Hospital and Masina Hospital in Mumbai towards charity.
In its notice of motion, NSE had said the story published on the portal was defamatory to them and be withdrawn.

However, after hearing both the parties, the HC ruled that NSE did not respond to queries sent to the bourse by the portal before publishing the story. Therefore, the stock exchange cannot say the story was defamatory, the judge said.

The HC also observed that NSE is fined since it was aware that no defamation was made out against the portal as the bourse had failed to respond to queries and yet it went ahead with filing the case thus wasting the time of the court.
Being aggrieved, NSE has moved the High Court again seeking a review of its order asking it to pay the fine.
NSE had said the report published on algo trading mechanism on its portal was not true.
When contacted, a spokesman of NSE confirmed the development but refused to comment.The suit was filed by NSE on July 21.

NSE had said that since its inception, "the NSE has been maintaining a high degree of surveillance and integrity in its daily operations and strictly adheres to the rules, regulations and guidelines issued by the regulators from time to time.