3. Establishment and constitution of the Forward Markets Commission.—(1) The Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette establish a Commission to be called the Forward
Markets Commission for the purpose of exercising such functions and discharging such duties as may be
assigned to the Commission by or under this Act.
(2) The Commission shall consist of not less than two, 1
[but not exceeding four], members appointed
by the Central Government 2
[one of them being nominated by the Central Government to be the
Chairman thereof; and the Chairman and the other member or members shall be either whole-time or
part-time as the Central Government may direct]:
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[Provided that the members to be so appointed shall be persons of ability, integrity and standing who
have shown capacity in dealing with problems relating to commerce or commodity markets, or in
administration or who have special knowledge or practical experience in any matter which renders them
suitable for appointment on the Commission.]
(3) No person shall be qualified for appointment as, or for continuing to be, a member of the
Commission if he has, directly or indirectly, any such financial or other interest as is likely to affect
prejudicially his functions as a member of the Commission, and every member shall, whenever required
by the Central Government so to do, furnish to it such information as it may require for the purpose of
securing compliance with the provisions of this sub-section.
(4) No member of the Commission shall hold office for a period of more than three years from the
date of his appointment, and a member relinquishing his office on the expiry of his term shall be eligible
for reappointment.
(5) The other terms and conditions of service of members of the Commission shall be such as may be
prescribed.
4. Functions of the Commission.—The functions of the Commission shall be—
(a) to advise the Central Government in respect of the recognition of, or the withdrawal of
recognition from, any association or in respect of any other matter arising out of the administration of
this Act;
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[(b) to keep forward markets under observation and to take such action in relation to them as it
may consider necessary, in exercise of the powers assigned to it by or under this Act;]
(c) to collect and whenever the Commission thinks it necessary publish information regarding the
trading conditions in respect of goods to which any of the provisions of this Act is made applicable,
including information regarding supply, demand and prices, and to submit to the Central Government
periodical reports on the operation of this Act and on the working of forward markets relating to such
goods;
(d) to make recommendations generally with a view to improving the organisation and working
of forward markets;
(e) to undertake the inspection of the accounts and other documents of 5
[any recognised
association or registered association or any member of such association] whenever it considers it
necessary; and
(f) to perform such other duties and exercise such other powers as may be assigned to the
Commission by or under this Act, or as may be prescribed.
1. Subs. by Act 62 of 1960, s. 4, for “but not exceeding three” (w.e.f. 28-12-1960).
2. Subs. by Act 46 of 1953, s. 2, for certain words (w.e.f. 23-12-1953).
3. The proviso subs. by Act 62 of 1960, s. 4 (w.e.f. 28-12-1960).
4. Subs. by s. 5, ibid., for clause (b) (w.e.f. 28-12-1960).
5. Subs. by s. 5, ibid., for “any recognised association” (w.e.f. 28-12-1960).
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1
[4A. Powers of the Commission.—(1) The Commission shall in the performance of its functions,
have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a
suit in respect of the following matters, namely:—
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any office;
(e) any matter which may be prescribed.
(2) The Commission shall have the power to require any person, subject to any privilege which may
be claimed by that person under any law for the time being in force, to furnish information on such points
or matters as, in the opinion of the Commission, may be useful for, or relevant to, any matter under the
consideration of the Commission and any person so required shall be deemed to be legally bound to
furnish such information within the meaning of section 176 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
(3) The Commission shall be deemed to be a Civil Court and when any offence described in
section 175, section 178, section 179, section 180 or section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) is
committed in the view or presence of the Commission, the Commission may, after recording the facts
constituting the offence and the statement of the accused as provided for in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), forward the case to a magistrate having jurisdiction to try the same and the
magistrate to whom any such case is forwarded shall proceed to hear the complaint against the accused as
if the case has been forwarded to him under section 482 of the said Code.
(4) Any proceeding before the Commission shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the
meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
Explanation.—For the purposes of enforcing attendance of witnesses, the local limits of the
Commission’s jurisdiction shall be the limits of the territory of India.]