New Delhi: Market regulator SEBI and Finance Ministry have come up with conflicting opinions over the applicability of Right to Information (RTI) Act on stock exchanges.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India told the bench of Central Information Commission (CIC) that bourses are not "public authorities" contrary to the opinion of Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).
The DEA has been maintaining that stock exchanges are not "public authorities" as defined in the RTI Act because they are regulated by SEBI and not the government.
This has created a peculiar situation for CIC, which is hearing RTI appeals to decide whether stock exchanges can be brought within the purview of the legislation.
The appeals came before CIC after Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange and Jaipur Stock Exchange turned down the plea of brokers and investors seeking information about alleged market fraud that caused them losses as well as details about a broker who allegedly played foul.
The RTI applications were filed by an investor K Lall, Rajkumari Agrawal and Yogesh Mehta (ex-member broker), who suffered losses in the market.
NSE opposed the application maintaining that it cannot be treated as a "public authority" as the government did not have any control over its affairs. The bourse, through its counsel, has sought ten days for making detailed submission before CIC.
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