NSE co-location case: SEBI exonerates 3 former executives, seeks action against 2

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has exonerated three former executives of the NSE in the co-location case. According to an order released by the regulator, it exonerated Subramanian Anand, who was the Chief Strategic Office and Group Operating Officer of the NSE, who was accused of failing to perform his role in establishing adequate systems leading to the scenario whereby certain brokers were allowed to breach the norms of fair and equitable access. SEBI also exonerated Umesh Jain and Ravi Apte, who were the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of NSE at different time periods, and were accused of having shown laxity and dereliction of duty by not taking adequate steps to make the exchange’s tick-by-tick (TBT ) architecture robust and prevent it from being manipulated during the times relevant to the case. The regulator also found Mahesh Soparkarand and Deviprasad Singh, who were head of the Project Support and Management (PSM) team at different periods, to have failed to discharge their duties as PSM team heads, which included monitoring the access to Secondary Server by trading members from time to time and administering uniform standards of discipline against them. However, the regulator also found such conduct has been found to be suitable for handling by NSE “so as to fix accountability on the employees, as deemed fit and appropriate.” Accordingly, NSE has been directed to initiate enquiry under its Employees Regulations against these two noticees and submit a report to SEBI within six months from the date of order.