CBI charge sheet in NSE Co-Location case is a travesty

After nearly ten years, NSE co-location case remains muddled, with unproven charges, regulatory contradictions, and eroded oversight

- DEEPAK SANCHETY

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has, at long last, filed its final charge sheet this week in the NSE co-location matter. ThePrint reports that the document names several brokers alleged to have “benefited” from NSEs co-location setup under former MD & CEO Chitra Ramkrishna.

On the face of it, the charges raise serious questions—but dig deeper, and one finds just smoke and no fire, If this is justice, it has been served with a generous side of half-truths and deliberately ignored claims of defendants. The time has come to call it out: this travesty needs to stop.

What the Charge Sheet Alleges

1. Co-location setup: NSE allowed brokers to place their servers physically close to NSE’s servers so that their trades/data could be processed faster.

2. Secondary/Fallback (POP) server access: The charge sheet claims brokers were allowed unfettered access to a “secondary POP server,’ which was supposed to be only a fallback. According to the CBI, brokers connected to this secondary POP server on many trading days in violation of rules.

3. Allegation of benefit: The basis of the CBI complaint is that by gaining faster access to data or secondary connections, these brokers obtained an “undue advantage.”

4. No political nexus found: Despite earlier speculation pushed by vested interests and multiple investigations (IT, ED, SEBI, CBI), no evidence ties any politician to any benefit from this trading arrangement. Shockingly, CBI has not even examined NSE’ shareholding, which could have revealed whether a politician benefited from attempts to maintain NSE'’s monopoly.

Where the Case Breaks Down