SOM BAHADUR GURUNG Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions by the convicts of Court Martial seek a direction for giving them the benefit of setting off the period undergone by them in military custody during the pendency of their trial before the Court Martial and reliance is placed on sec. 428 Cri. P. C. which reads as under:

(2.) On behalf of the respondents it is contended that the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code are not applicable to the military offences and convicts of Court Martial. They are exclusively governed by the Army Act which is a self-contained code providing for investigation inquiry trial and matters relating to military offences trial of military personnel and sentence and remission. Reliance is placed on secs. 4 and 5 of Cri. P. C. which read as under:

(3.) The Army Act 1950 is an Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the government of regular Army. In the Statement of Objects and Reasons it is stated as under: "The main objects of the revision of the Army Act are: (a) to make it self-sufficient by incorporating the relevant provisions from certain other related enactments: (b) to adopt the existing provisions to suit the new constitutional set up and present day requirements; and (c) on the one hand to bridge the gap between the Army and Civil laws as far as possible in the matter of punishments for offences and on the other to eliminate the disparity between the corresponding provisions of the law governing the Army and the Air force.