The Delhi High Court on Wednesday held that the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) falls within the ambit of a “public authority” under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. [2026 LiveLaw (Del) 603]

A division bench comprising Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla dismissed the appeal filed by the National Stock Exchange against a Single Judge decision which had held the Exchange is amenable to the RTI regime.

The main issue before the Court was whether NSE, despite being incorporated as a private company, could be considered a “public authority” under the RTI Act?

Referring to the Suprem ruling in Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank Ltd. v. State of Kerala, the Court noted that a body may qualify as a public authority if it is owned, controlled, or substantially financed by the Government.

It said that if a body is owned by the appropriate Government, controlled by the appropriate Government or substantially financed by the appropriate Government, it would qualify as a “public authority”. 

The Bench thus agreed with the single judge's view that the NSEI is controlled by the appropriate Government.

“… it is clear that the NSEI qualifies as a “public authority” under clause (i) of the second part of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. We also agree with the learned Single Judge that the NSEI qualifies as a “public authority” even under the first part of Section 2(h),” the Court said.

Title: National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. v. Central Information Commission & Ors

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 603

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