NSE Paid Rs 1,491.207 Crore in Two SEBI Settlements

National Stock Exchange of India Limited paid the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Rs 1,491.207 crore on July 31, 2026 under revised settlement terms for two co-location enforcement matters. NSE paid Rs 1,223.559 crore for the tick-by-tick architecture matter and Rs 267.648 crore for the point-to-point connectivity matter, but their formal closure steps differ.

How much did NSE pay in the two SEBI settlements?

NSE paid Rs 1,491.207 crore after SEBI agreed in principle to the revised terms by email on July 30, 2026, issued notices of demand, and received payment on July 31, 2026. A co-location facility allows trading members to place equipment close to an exchange’s trading infrastructure, and the two matters concerned alleged preferential access, early connection and latency advantages. Latency is the time taken for market data or an order to travel through a network.

The revised settlement terms were higher than the amounts in NSE’s June 20, 2025 settlement applications. The tick-by-tick matter rose by Rs 58.829 crore, from Rs 1,164.73 crore to Rs 1,223.559 crore. The point-to-point connectivity matter rose by Rs 44.988 crore, from Rs 222.66 crore to Rs 267.648 crore. The combined increase was Rs 103.817 crore.

The first matter accounted for about 82% of the total revised amount, while the second represented about 18%. This concentration is relevant because the Rs 1,223.559 crore matter still has pending applications before the Supreme Court of India, whereas the court disposed of the appeals in the Rs 267.648 crore matter on September 3, 2026.

What were the allegations in the first NSE co-location matter?

The first matter concerned allegations that certain trading members obtained preferential access and early connection through NSE’s tick-by-tick architecture in its co-location facility. SEBI’s show-cause notices dated May 22, 2017, July 3, 2018 and July 31, 2018 also alleged non-cooperation by NSE and its officials during a forensic auditor’s review of the co-location facility.

SEBI’s Whole-Time Member (WTM) ordered NSE on April 30, 2019 to disgorge Rs 624.89 crore plus interest at 12% a year from April 1, 2014 until payment. Disgorgement is a regulatory direction requiring payment of an amount linked to alleged improper gains. The WTM order also imposed non-monetary and restrictive directions, including a six-month prohibition on NSE accessing the securities market, although SEBI found that NSE had not violated the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations.

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) partly allowed NSE’s May 19, 2019 appeal on January 23, 2023, set aside the disgorgement direction and directed NSE to deposit Rs 100 crore in the Investor Education and Protection Fund. SAT separately set aside the Rs 10 crore penalty imposed under SEBI’s February 10, 2021 adjudication order. SEBI challenged both SAT rulings before the Supreme Court under Section 15Z of the SEBI Act.

The Supreme Court directed SEBI on March 20, 2023 to refund Rs 300 crore to NSE, subject to NSE undertaking to repay the amount with interest if SEBI’s appeal succeeded. After the July 31, 2026 payment, NSE and SEBI filed interlocutory applications on August 17 and August 18, 2026 seeking disposal of the tagged Supreme Court appeals. Those applications were pending for hearing at the disclosed date, leaving the court closure step incomplete.

How did the second NSE co-location matter differ?

The second matter focused on alleged preferential treatment for trading members using point-to-point connectivity through an authorised service provider and an alleged unfair latency advantage. SEBI’s May 22, 2017 and July 3, 2018 notices also alleged that NSE had not implemented a secondary-market advisory committee decision dated November 11, 2011, which was communicated to NSE on November 28, 2011.

SEBI’s April 30, 2019 WTM order directed NSE to disgorge Rs 62.58 crore plus interest at 12% a year from September 11, 2015. The order also required six-monthly audits of the co-location network architecture and infrastructure by an independent auditor qualified as a Certified Information Systems Auditor or Certified Information Security Manager and empanelled with the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).

SAT partly allowed NSE’s appeal on August 9, 2023 and set aside the disgorgement direction. SAT also set aside the Rs 7 crore penalty imposed in SEBI’s June 28, 2022 adjudication order on December 14, 2023. SEBI appealed both SAT orders, and the Supreme Court directed SEBI on October 17, 2023 to refund Rs 31 crore to NSE, subject to an undertaking to repay it with interest if SEBI’s appeal prevailed.

The Rs 267.648 crore revised settlement amount exceeded the April 2019 disgorgement direction of Rs 62.58 crore, excluding the interest specified in that direction. The Supreme Court tagged the two appeals on April 10, 2024 and disposed of them on September 3, 2026 after NSE and SEBI filed applications in August 2026. SEBI had not yet passed the settlement order for this matter at the disclosed date.

Does payment complete the NSE co-location cases?

Payment does not by itself complete every disclosed regulatory and court step in the two NSE co-location cases. SEBI agreed only in principle to both revised terms on July 30, 2026 before issuing the notices of demand, and NSE paid on July 31, 2026. The first matter still required a hearing on the August 2026 Supreme Court applications, while the second still required SEBI’s settlement order.

The settlement amounts also should not be treated as the same measure as the earlier monetary directions. In the first matter, the Rs 1,223.559 crore revised term followed a Rs 624.89 crore disgorgement order that SAT set aside and a separate Rs 100 crore Investor Education and Protection Fund deposit direction. In the second matter, the Rs 267.648 crore revised term followed a Rs 62.58 crore disgorgement order and a Rs 7 crore penalty, both of which SAT set aside in 2023.

NSE denied the allegations in its November 20, 2018 response in the first matter and its February 25, 2019 response in the second matter. The disclosed payment reflects revised settlement terms accepted in principle by SEBI, rather than a disclosed finding in these passages that NSE admitted the alleged preferential access, early connection or latency advantages. The formal effect of the settlements depends on the remaining court and SEBI actions stated in the disclosure.

Conclusion

NSE’s Rs 1,491.207 crore payment combines two separate co-location matters with different allegations, prior orders and procedural outcomes. The Rs 1,223.559 crore tick-by-tick architecture matter makes up most of the payment and remains subject to pending Supreme Court applications, while the Rs 267.648 crore point-to-point connectivity matter has had its related Supreme Court appeals disposed of.

The next disclosed developments are a hearing on the August 2026 Supreme Court applications for the first matter and SEBI’s settlement order for the second. Those steps will determine whether the July 31, 2026 payments are followed by final recorded closure in both matters.