National Stock Exchange is a public authority under RTI Act, rules Delhi High Court

📌 Summary:

• The Delhi High Court (July 1, 2026) held that the National Stock Exchange of India (NSEI) is a "public authority" under the Right to Information Act, 2005
• A division bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and O.P. Shukla dismissed the NSE appeal challenging a single judge order that had ruled it qualified under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act
• The ruling brings the NSE within the ambit of RTI-based transparency and disclosure obligations
• Significance: extends public accountability to a systemically important market infrastructure institution regulated by SEBI

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (Governance – Transparency & Accountability; RTI) — scope of "public authority", judicial expansion of transparency norms to market institutions.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• RTI Act enacted 2005; "public authority" is defined under Section 2(h)
• NSE is regulated by SEBI (statutory body under SEBI Act, 1992)
• Central Information Commission (CIC) is the apex RTI appellate body

🔑 Key Term: Public Authority (Section 2(h), RTI Act) — any authority, body or institution of self-government established/constituted by/under the Constitution, law, or substantially financed/controlled by government.