Chapter IV PUNISHMENTS

(1) Punishments may be inflicted in respect of offences committed by persons subject to this Act and convicted by Force Courts according to the scale following, that is to say,— (a) death; (b) imprisonment which may be for the term of life or any other lesser term but excluding imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months in Force custody; (c) dismissal or removal from the service; (d) compulsory retirement from the service; (e) imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months in Force custody; (f) reduction to the ranks or to a lower rank or grade or a place in the list of their rank in the case of an under-officer; (g) reduction to next lower rank in case of an officer or subordinate officer: Provided that no officer shall be reduced to a rank lower than the one to which he was initially appointed; (h) forfeiture of seniority of rank and forfeiture of all or any part of the service for the purpose of promotion; (i) forfeiture of service for the purpose of increased pay or pension; (j) fine, in respect of civil offences; (k) severe reprimand or reprimand except in the case of persons below the rank of an under-officer; (l) forfeiture of pay and allowances for a period not exceeding three months for an offence committed on active duty; (m) forfeiture in the case of person sentenced to dismissal from the service of all arrears of pay and allowances and other public money due to him at the time of such dismissal; (n) stoppage of pay and allowances until any proved loss or damage occasioned by the offence for which he is convicted is made good. (2) Each of the punishments specified in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be inferior in degree to every punishment preceding it in the above scale. (1) ... (f) reduction to the ranks or to a lower rank or grade or a place in the list of their rank in the case of an under-officer; (g) reduction to next lower rank in case of an officer or subordinate officer: Provided that no officer shall be reduced to a rank lower than the one to which he was initially appointed; (h) forfeiture of seniority of rank and forfeiture of all or any part of the service for the purpose of promotion; (i) forfeiture of service for the purpose of increased pay or pension; (j) fine, in respect of civil offences; (k) severe reprimand or reprimand except in the case of persons below the rank of an under-officer; (l) forfeiture of pay and allowances for a period not exceeding three months for an offence committed on active duty; (m) forfeiture in the case of person sentenced to dismissal from the service of all arrears of pay and allowances and other public money due to him at the time of such dismissal; (n) stoppage of pay and allowances until any proved loss or damage occasioned by the offence for which he is convicted is made good. (2) Each of the punishments specified in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be inferior in degree to every punishment preceding it in the above scale.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a Force Court may, on convicting a person subject to this Act of any of the offences specified in sections 16 to 48 (both inclusive) award either the particular punishment with which the offence is stated in the said sections to be punishable or, in lieu thereof, any one of the punishments lower in the scale set out in section 51 regard being had to the nature and degree of the offence.

A Force Court may award in addition to, or without, any other punishment, the punishment specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 51, or any one or more of the punishments specified in clauses (f) to (n) (both inclusive) of that sub-section.

When on active duty an enrolled person has been sentenced by a Force Court to imprisonment whether combined with dismissal or not, the prescribed officer may direct that such person may be retained to serve in the ranks, and such service shall be reckoned as part of his term of imprisonment.

Punishments may also be inflicted in respect of offences committed by persons subject to this Act without the intervention of a Force Court in the manner stated in sections 56, 58 and 59.

(1) Subject to the provisions of section 57, a commanding officer of and above the rank of Commandant may, in the prescribed manner, proceed against a person subject to this Act, other than an officer or a subordinate officer, who is charged with an offence under this Act and award such person, to the extent prescribed, one or more of the following punishments, that is to say,— (a) imprisonment in Force custody up to twenty-eight days; (b) detention up to twenty-eight days; (c) confinement to the lines up to twenty-eight days; (d) extra guards or duties; (e) deprivation of any special position or special emoluments or any acting rank; (f) severe reprimand or reprimand; (g) fine up to fourteen days’ pay in any one month; (h) deductions from his pay and allowances of any sum required to make good any loss or damage occasioned by the offence for which he is punished. (2) If any unit, training centre or other establishment of the Force is being temporarily commanded by an officer of the rank of Second-in-Command or Deputy Commandant, such officer shall have full powers of a commanding officer specified in sub-section (1). (3) Subject to the provisions of section 57, a Deputy Commandant or an Assistant Commandant, commanding a company or a detachment or an outpost, shall have the power to proceed against a person subject to this Act, other than an officer or a subordinate officer, who is charged with an offence under this Act and award such person to the extent prescribed, one or more of the punishments specified in clauses (a) to (d) and (h) of sub-section (1) provided that the maximum limit of punishment awarded under each of the clauses (a), (b) and (c) shall not exceed fourteen days. (4) A subordinate officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector who is commanding a detachment or an outpost shall have the powers to proceed against a person subject to this Act, other than a subordinate officer or an under-officer, who is charged with an offence under this Act and award such person to the extent prescribed, one or more of the punishments specified under clauses (c) and (d) of sub-section (1) provided that the maximum limit of punishment awarded under clause (c) shall not exceed fourteen days.

(1) In the case of an award of two or more of the punishments specified in clauses (a), (b), (c) and (d) of sub-section (1) of section 56, the punishments specified in clause (c) or clause (d) shall take effect only at the end of the punishment specified in clause (a) or clause (b). (2) When two or more of the punishments specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) of section 56 are awarded to a person conjointly, or when already undergoing one or more of the said punishments, the whole extent of the punishments shall not exceed in the aggregate forty-two days. (3) The punishments specified in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) of section 56 shall not be awarded to any person who is of the rank of an under-officer or was, at the time of committing the offence for which he is punished, of such rank. (4) The punishment specified in clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 56 shall not be awarded to any person below the rank of an under-officer.

(1) An officer not below the rank of Inspector-General may, in the prescribed manner, proceed against an officer of or below the rank of Commandant who is charged with an offence under this Act and award one or more of the following punishments, that is to say,— (a) forfeiture of seniority, or in the case of any of them whose promotion depends upon length of service, forfeiture of service for the purpose of promotion for a period not exceeding one year, but subject to the right of the accused previous to the award to elect to be tried by a Force Court; (b) severe reprimand or reprimand; (c) deduction from pay and allowances of any sum required to make good any proved loss or damage occasioned by the offence of which he is convicted. (2) An officer not below the rank of Additional Deputy Inspector-General may, in the prescribed manner, proceed against a person of or below the rank of Subedar-Major who is charged with an offence under this Act and award one or more of the following punishments, that is to say,— (a) forfeiture of seniority, or in the case of any of them whose promotion depends upon the length of service, forfeiture of service for the purpose of promotion for a period not exceeding one year, but subject to the right of the accused previous to the award to elect to be tried by a Force Court; (b) severe reprimand or reprimand; (c) deduction from pay and allowances of any sum required to make good any proved loss or damage occasioned by the offence of which he is convicted. (3) An officer not below the rank of Commandant may, in the prescribed manner, proceed against a person of or below the rank of Subedar-Major who is charged with an offence under this Act and award any one or both of the following punishments, that is to say,— (a) severe reprimand or reprimand; (b) deduction from pay and allowances of any sum required to make good any proved loss or damage occasioned by the offence of which he is convicted.

(1) In every case in which punishment has been awarded under section 58, certified true copies of the proceedings shall be forwarded, in the prescribed manner, by the officer awarding the punishment to the prescribed superior authority who may, if the punishment awarded appears to him to be illegal, unjust or excessive, cancel, vary or remit the punishment and make such other direction as may be appropriate in the circumstances of the case. (2) For the purpose of sub-section (1), a “superior authority” means,— (a) any officer superior in command to such officer who has awarded the punishment; (b) in the case of punishment awarded by Director-General, the Central Government.

(1) Whenever any weapon or part of a weapon, or ammunition, forming part of the equipment of a unit, is lost or stolen, a commanding officer not below the rank of the Commandant of that unit may, after making such enquiry as he thinks fit and subject to the rules, impose a collective fine upon the subordinate officers, under-officers and men of such unit, or upon so many of them as, in his judgment, should be held responsible for such loss or theft. (2) Such fine shall be assessed as a percentage of the pay of the individuals on whom it falls.