Delhi HC seeks CBI’s stand on Chitra Ramkrishna’s bail plea in NSE co-location case

Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain issued notice on the bail application and listed the case for further hearing on May 31

The Delhi High Court on May 20 sought a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the bail plea by former managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chitra Ramkrishna in connection with the co-location case.

Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain issued notice on the bail application and listed the case for further hearing on May 31.

The trial court had dismissed the bail plea of the former NSE boss on May 12 and said that no ground for bail was made out at this stage. The CBI is probing the alleged improper dissemination of information from the computer servers of the market exchanges to stockbrokers.

An FIR, in this case, was registered in May 2018, amid fresh revelations about irregularities at the country's largest stock exchange.

The CBI had arrested Ms. Ramkrishna on March 6, a day after her anticipatory bail application was dismissed by the court. She was remanded to judicial custody on March 14 by the trial court after the expiry of her seven-day CBI custody.

While denying her bail, the trial court had cited Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan as well as the Frankenstein monster, and said the financial world, including the FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors), are waiting with bated breath for the 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".

"It appears that accused A-1 (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," Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal had observed.