Adjudicating officer definitions govern securities adjudication procedure, clarifying inquiry scope and interpretation under the Act. The rules define key terms for adjudication under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) regime: Act means the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956; adjudicating officer is the officer appointed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to conduct adjudication; and inquiry means the inquiry specified under the Act. Terms not defined in these rules take the meanings assigned by the Act, and a notation records a prior textual substitution in the statutory cross-reference.