A special court in New Delhi sent former managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange, Chitra Ramkrishna, to seven-day CBI custody after her arrest late Sunday night.
Ramkrishna was produced before the Rouse Avenue court on Monday where the counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation asked for a 14-day custody. Ramkrishna’s advocate Trideep Pais opposed the CBI’s plea.
The CBI arrested Ramkrishna as part of an investigation pursuant to a first information report registered against Sanjay Gupta—promoter of OPG Securities—and unknown officials of the NSE.
The FIR alleged a criminal conspiracy between Gupta and unknown NSE officials that allowed Gupta’s firm unfair access to the bourse’s co-location facility that resulted in faster access to information to his firm between 2010 and 2014. The case was registered by the CBI in 2018. In 2019, SEBI issued orders against the NSE and OPG Securities among others.
More recently, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, in a separate matter of governance at the NSE, concluded glaring breach of regulations and laws by Ramkrishna while heading the leading and largest stock exchange in India.
During the hearing on Monday, the CBI told the court that Ramkrishna needed to be confronted for around 2,500 emails in relation to the investigation. She was arrested at the appropriate stage, the CBI counsel informed the court.
Ramkrishna’s lawyer argued that she had been cooperating and her conduct had been exemplary as an accused.
Participation is not equal to cooperation, the CBI said in response.
The CBI court judge Sanjeev Agarwal ordered Ramkrishna into CBI custody for seven days. She will next be produced in court on March 14.
