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Section4
The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992

Management of the Board

In force From 30 Jan 1992 Act 15 of 1992 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 15 of 1992 Ministry Finance Enacted 04 Apr 1992 In force 30 Jan 1992 Cited by 1 provision Instruments 40

Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 deals with management of the Board. The Board shall consist of the following members, namely:-- (a) a Chairman; The Act came into force on 30 Jan 1992.

(1) The Board shall consist of the following members, namely:--

(a) a Chairman;

(b) two members from amongst the officials of the 1[Ministry] of the Central Government dealing with Finance 2[and administration of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956)];

(c) one member from amongst the officials of 3[the Reserve Bank];

4[(d) five other members of whom at least three shall be the whole-time members,]

to be appointed by the Central Government.

(2) The general superintendence, direction and management of the affairs of the Board shall vest in a Board of members, which may exercise all powers and do all acts and things which may be exercised or done by the Board.

(3) Save as otherwise determined by regulations, the Chairmen shall also have powers of general superintendence and direction of the affairs of the Board and may also exercise all powers and do all acts and things which may be exercised or done by that Board.

(4) The Chairman and members referred to in clauses (a) and (d) of sub-section (1) shall be appointed by the Central Government and the members referred to in clauses (b) and (c) of that sub-section shall be nominated by the Central Government and the 5[Reserve Bank] respectively.

(5) The Chairman and the other members referred to in clauses (a) and (d) of sub-section (1) shall be persons of ability, integrity and standing who have shown capacity in dealing with problems relating to securities market or have special knowledge or experience of law, finance, economics, accountancy, administration or in any other discipline which, in the opinion of the Central Government, shall be useful to the Board.

Section 4, The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (Act 15 of 1992).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

Referred to by 1

  1. s. 5 Term of office and conditions of service of Chairman and members of the Board

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Securities & Exchange Board of India vs Ajay Agarwal

    Supreme Court of India 25 Feb 2010 Binding (SC) - as a Supreme Court judgment on interpretation of SEBI Act and con Reportable

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Procedural provisions of law, including Section 11-B and Section 11(4)(b) of the SEBI Act, can be applied retrospectively to alleged misconduct occurring prior to the enactment of such amendments, because: (1) procedural laws apply to all actions, pending and future, and no person has a vested right in any course of procedure; (2) such application does not violate Article 20(1) of the Constitution as the respondent has not been charged with an 'offence' or subjected to a 'penalty' in the criminal law sense, but has merely been restrained from certain activities by an administrative order; (3) even if viewed as operating prospectively, the actual exercise of power by the SEBI Chairman on 31 March 2004 was lawful as the amendments were then in force; and (4) the respondent's receipt of adequate notice through the show cause notice invoking Section 11-B and fair hearing opportunity negates any procedural unfairness.

    On this section: Authority of Chairman to issue directions in exercise of Board's powers

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Made under this section, and citing it

1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.

Another 39 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 4

What have the courts held on Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act?

Securities & Exchange Board of India vs Ajay Agarwal (25 Feb 2010) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Authority of Chairman to issue directions in exercise of Board's powers.

How do I find court cases under Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Sebi Act 4, section 4 Sebi Act, section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Securities & Exchange Board of India vs Ajay Agarwal (25 Feb 2010).

What should I read with Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, and has it changed?

1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations Regulations, 2018 Last amended on June 04, 2019 (2018).

When did Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act come into force?

Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, cited as Sebi Act 4, came into force on 30 Jan 1992, having been enacted on 04 Apr 1992. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.