Chapter V CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

1. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), officers and 1[sailors] shall be liable to serve in the Indian Navy or the Indian Naval Reserve Forces, as the case may be, until they are duly discharged, dismissed, dismissed with disgrace, retired, permitted to resign, or released.
2. (2) No officer shall be at liberty to resign his office except with the permission of the Central Government and no 1[sailor] shall be at liberty to resign his post except with the permission of the prescribed officer.
3. (3) The acceptance of any resignation shall be a matter within the discretion of the Central Government or the officer concerned, as the case may be.
4. (4) Officers retired or permitted to resign shall be liable to recall to naval service in an emergency in accordance with regulations made under this Act, and on such recall shall be liable to serve until they have been duly discharged, dismissed, dismissed with disgrace, retired, permitted to resign, or released.

1. (1) Every Officer and 1[sailor] shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.
2. (2) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the regulations made thereunder,
   • (a) the Central Government may 2[dismiss or] discharge or retire from the naval service any officer or 1[sailor];
   • (b) the Chief of the Naval Staff or any prescribed officer may 3[dismiss or] discharge from the naval service any 4[sailor].

Subject to the provisions of section 18, a 1[sailor] shall be entitled to be discharged at the expiration of the term of service for which he is engaged unless--

1. (a) such expiration occurs during active service in which case he shall be liable to continue to serve for such further period as may be required by the Chief of the Naval Staff; or
2. (b) he is re-enrolled in accordance with the regulations made under this Act.

1. (1) A 1[sailor] entitled to be discharged under section 16 shall be discharged with all convenient speed and in any case within one month of his becoming so entitled: Provided that where a 1[sailor] is serving overseas as the time he becomes entitled to be discharged he shall be returned to India for the purpose of being discharged with all convenient speed, and in any case within three months of his becoming so entitled: Provided further that where such enrolled person serving oversea does not desire to return to India, he may be discharged at the place where he is at the time.
2. (2) Every 1[sailor] discharged shall be entitled to be conveyed free of cost from any place he may be at the time to any place in India to which he may desire to go.
3. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding sub-sections, an enrolled person shall remain liable to serve until he is duly discharged.
4. (4) Every 1[sailor] who is dismissed, discharged, retired, permitted to resign or released from service shall be furnished by the prescribed officer with a certificate in the language which is the mother tongue of such 1[sailor] and also in the English language setting forth
   • (a) the authority terminating his service;
   • (b) the cause for such termination; and
   • (c) the full period of his service in the Indian Navy and the Indian Naval Reserve Forces.

Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the award by a naval tribunal of the punishment of dismissal with disgrace or dismissal from the naval service under this Act.

1. (1) No person subject to naval law shall, without the express sanction of the Central Government,--
   • (a) be a member of, or be associated in any way with, any trade union, labour union, political association or with any class of trade unions, labour unions or political associations, or
   • (b) be a member of, or be associated in any way with, any other society, institution, association or organisation that is not recognised as part of the Armed Forces of the Union or is not of a purely social, recreational or religious nature. Explanation.--If any question arises as to whether any society, institution, association or organisation is of a purely social, recreational or religious nature, the decision of the Central Government thereon shall be final.
2. (2) No person subject to naval law shall attend or address any meeting or take any part in any demonstration organised by any body of persons for any political purposes or for such other purposes as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government.
3. (3) No person subject to naval law shall communicate with the press or publish or cause to be published any book, letter or other document having bearing on any naval, army or air force subject or containing any fact or opinion calculated to embarrass the relations between the Government and the people or any section thereof or between the Government and any foreign country, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.
4. (4) No person subject to naval law shall whilst he is so subject practise any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business without the previous sanction of the Chief of the Naval staff.