NSE settlement ends Supreme Court appeals in two cases

National Stock Exchange of India Limited settled its colocation and dark-fibre matters with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for Rs 1,491.21 crore, and the Supreme Court disposed of the dark-fibre appeals on September 3, 2026 and the colocation appeals on September 18, 2026. The settlement brought the disclosed Supreme Court appeal process in those two matters to an end.

What did the Supreme Court dispose of in NSE's settlement?

The Supreme Court disposed of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or SEBI, appeals in the dark-fibre matter on September 3, 2026 and in the colocation matter on September 18, 2026. NSE and SEBI filed interlocutory applications on August 17 and August 18, 2026, respectively, to place the settlement terms on record and seek disposal of both sets of appeals. The disclosure states that the court took the settlement on record before disposing of the appeals.

The disposed matters were SEBI appeals against earlier Securities Appellate Tribunal, or SAT, orders in the colocation and dark-fibre cases. The court outcome disclosed by NSE therefore relates to the Supreme Court appeal process rather than a fresh merits decision on the underlying regulatory directions. NSE had filed revised settlement terms with SEBI on March 13, 2026 for a cumulative Rs 1,491.21 crore covering the colocation and dark-fibre whole-time member and adjudicating officer orders.

The settlement followed two separate applications that NSE filed with SEBI on June 20, 2025 under the SEBI Settlement Proceedings Regulations, 2018. Those initial applications proposed a cumulative Rs 1,387.39 crore, or Rs 103.82 crore less than the revised terms filed in March 2026. The later amount was the figure placed before the Supreme Court through the August 2026 applications.

How was NSE's Rs 1,491.21 crore settlement paid?

NSE's Rs 1,491.21 crore settlement consisted of Rs 776.47 crore already deposited with SEBI and a further Rs 714.74 crore demanded by SEBI. In an email dated July 30, 2026, SEBI said it had in principle agreed to accept the settlement terms and issued the demand for the additional amount. The prior deposit was to be adjusted against the cumulative settlement amount.

NSE's board approved the Rs 714.74 crore payment on July 30, 2026, and NSE paid that amount to SEBI on July 31, 2026. The payment and prior deposit together equal Rs 1,491.21 crore. The disclosure does not break down the settlement total between the colocation and dark-fibre matters.

The revised settlement terms were Rs 103.82 crore above the amount in NSE's June 2025 applications. That change occurred before SEBI's July 30, 2026 in-principle acceptance and before the July 31 payment. NSE did not provide a separate explanation for the increase in the supplied disclosure.

What were the earlier colocation and dark-fibre orders against NSE?

In the colocation matter, SEBI's whole-time member order dated April 30, 2019 directed NSE to disgorge Rs 624.89 crore plus interest at 12% a year from April 1, 2014 until payment. It also contained non-monetary and restrictive directions, including a six-month prohibition on NSE accessing the securities market. A separate adjudicating officer order dated February 10, 2021 levied a Rs 1 crore penalty.

SAT's January 23, 2023 colocation order upheld the non-monetary directions but set aside the disgorgement direction and directed NSE to deposit Rs 100 crore in the Investor Education and Protection Fund. SAT subsequently set aside the colocation adjudicating officer order on July 12, 2023. SEBI appealed those SAT outcomes to the Supreme Court, leading to the colocation appeals disposed of on September 18, 2026.

In the dark-fibre matter, SEBI's April 30, 2019 whole-time member order directed NSE to deposit Rs 62.58 crore plus interest at 12% a year from September 11, 2015 until payment. A June 28, 2022 adjudicating officer order separately imposed a Rs 7 crore penalty. SAT reversed the disgorgement element of the whole-time member order on August 9, 2023 and set aside the adjudicating officer order on December 14, 2023.

The disclosed settlement did not include the separately described governance and conflict-of-interest proceedings. NSE withdrew its SAT appeals in that matter on July 24, 2024 and paid the Rs 1 crore penalty, plus interest, on July 29, 2024. NSE also said it had complied with applicable non-monetary directions under the governance whole-time member order and informed SEBI of its compliance status.

How did NSE account for the settlement and report operating performance?

NSE recognised a Rs 1,391.21 crore provision in other expenses for the year ended March 31, 2026, in addition to Rs 100 crore provided during the year ended March 31, 2023. Together, the disclosed provisions equal the Rs 1,491.21 crore revised settlement amount. The provision is an accounting recognition, while the Rs 714.74 crore payment made on July 31, 2026 was the further amount demanded by SEBI.

The settlement disclosure appeared with NSE's audited consolidated results for the half year ended September 30, 2026. Total segment revenue increased to Rs 8,627.21 crore from Rs 7,709.04 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2025. Trading revenue rose by Rs 772.44 crore to Rs 7,707.32 crore, while clearing revenue increased by Rs 96.87 crore to Rs 958.63 crore.

NSE reported profit before tax from continuing operations of Rs 7,594 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 6,813.99 crore a year earlier. The periods included different exceptional items: the 2026 half year included a Rs 48.32 crore reversal related to new labour codes, while the prior-year period included a Rs 1,200.94 crore gain on the sale of a 9% stake in National Securities Depository Limited. The results do not attribute revenue or profit changes to the settlement provision.

Conclusion

NSE's Rs 1,491.21 crore settlement with SEBI resolved the disclosed Supreme Court appeals connected with the colocation and dark-fibre matters. The dark-fibre appeals were disposed of on September 3, 2026 and the colocation appeals on September 18, 2026, after the court took the settlement terms on record. NSE had funded the amount through a Rs 776.47 crore prior deposit and a Rs 714.74 crore payment on July 31, 2026.

The filing does not identify a further court hearing, payment instalment or settlement target after the September 2026 disposals. The next relevant disclosure to watch is any subsequent NSE filing that specifies implementation of the settlement terms or records any further accounting effect beyond the Rs 1,391.21 crore provision recognised for the year ended March 31, 2026 and the earlier Rs 100 crore provision.