“One case is in the Bombay High Court and one case is in the Delhi High Court (over the issue of bringing bourses under the transparency legislation). We are now moving to get those cases transferred to the Supreme Court,” Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah told PTI. The Commission, in response to RTI applications, held in September that stock exchanges are ‘public authority’ within the meaning of RTI Act 2005 and would have to comply with the provisions of transparency legislation.

Seperate petitions
The decision, however, did not go down well with the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, which in separate petitions challenged it in the Bombay High Court and Delhi High Court respectively. Elaborating on the stand of the Commission, Mr Habibullah said: “Sebi strongly argued for the decision we gave, some stock exchanges argued against it. Now, what will happen in that case I do not know.”

When asked whether a stock exchange such as BSE, which will fall within the definition of a public authority, he clarified: “A public authority means any authority, body or institution of self government established or constituted by the Constitution, any law made by Parliament or state legislature by any notification made by appropriate government.”