The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has addressed the plea of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for IPO approval in the Delhi High Court.

What Happened: As reported by NDTV Profit, the NSE had appealed to the court, asking for a reevaluation of SEBI’s decision to halt its IPO. This move was in response to a petition filed by the People Activism Forum, a group working to speed up the NSE’s IPO process.

Previously, the NSE had been approved by SEBI to list its shares. However, due to complications with NSE's co-location facilities, SEBI imposed a six-month ban in 2019, which was later adjusted but maintained.

SEBI, in its response, revealed that it had put on hold its review of NSE's draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) due to an ongoing probe into NSE's co-location practices. The investigation discovered that the NSE had not been able to ensure fair competition for trading members, thus breaching regulations.

See Also: Tata Steel, SAIL, Coal India And Other Steel And Mining Stocks Down After This SC Judgement

SEBI further explained that it had returned the DRHP to NSE in 2019 due to significant alterations in the offer size, triggered by a decrease in the number of shareholders and shares being offered. NSE was advised to refile the DRHP once the investigation was concluded.

Despite the unresolved regulatory issues, NSE continued to seek approval for its IPO plan, submitting applications in 2019 and 2020. NSE provided the required undertaking but has not yet requested a new no objection certificate (NOC) for listing.

SEBI also clarified that it had not imposed any conditions on NSE, such as maintaining a glitch-free operation for a year, as was incorrectly reported in a news article in December 2023.

In its reply, SEBI stated that the People Activism Forum is not directly involved in the regulatory proceedings concerning NSE, and is not in a position to question the market regulator’s decisions.

Read Next: Daljeet Singh Khatri Takes Charge As Director Finance At HUDCO