Free shares! NSE IPO DRHP reveals curious case of 5,000 shares landing in wrong demat account

NSE has filed its DRHP for an offer-for-sale IPO of up to 14.89 crore shares, about 6% of its paid-up equity, with a potential size of around Rs 30,000 crore at an estimated unlisted valuation of about Rs 5 lakh crore. The DRHP disclosed an ongoing civil and criminal dispute over 5,000 NSE shares allegedly erroneously credited to an individual's demat account, of which 3,685 were sold for about Rs 1.327 crore before the error was detected, with the remainder also receiving bonus shares after NSE's 4:1 bonus issue in November 2024. A separate petition in the Bombay High Court has sought a stay on the IPO process until disclosure of certain shareholder and beneficial ownership details, while NSE shares are proposed to be listed on BSE.