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16/07/2025
The Army Act, 1952

The Army Act, 1952

( ACT NO. XXXIX OF 1952 )

Chapter XIV

MISCELLANEOUS PRIVILEGES

Complaint against officers
167. (1) Any person subject to this Act, other than an officer, who deems himself wronged by any superior or other officer, may, if not attached to a unit, troop or company, complain to the officer under whose command or orders he is serving; and may, if attached to a unit, troop or company, complain to the officer commanding the same.
 
 
(2) When the officer complained against is the officer to whom any complaint should, under sub-section (1), be preferred the aggrieved person may complain to such officer's next superior officer.
 
 
 
 
(3) Every officer receiving such complaint shall examine into it for giving full redress to the complainant or, when necessary refer it to superior authority.
 
 
 
 
(4) Every such complaint shall be preferred in such manner and through such channels as may from time to time be specified by proper authority.
 
 
 
 
(5) The Government may revise any decision by the Chief of Army Staff under sub-section (2), but otherwise the decision of the Chief of Army Staff shall be final.
Complaint by officers
168. Any officer who deems himself wronged by his commanding officer or any superior officer and who, on due application made to his commanding officer, does not receive the redress to which he considers himself entitled, may complain to the Government in such manner and through such channels as may from time to time be specified by proper authority.
Privileges of persons attending courts martial
169. (1) No president or member of a court martial, no judge advocate, no party to any proceedings before a court martial, or his legal practitioner or agent, and no witness acting in obedience to a summons or order to attend a court martial shall, while proceeding to, attending, or returning from, a court martial, be liable to arrest under civil or revenue process.
 
 
 
 
(2) If any such person is arrested under any such process, he shall be discharged by order of the court martial.
Exemption from arrest for debt
170. (1) No person subject to this Act shall, so long as he belongs to the Bangladesh Army, by liable to be arrested for debt under any process issued by, or by the authority of, any civil or revenue court or revenue officer.
 
 
 
 
(2) The judge of any such court or the said officer shall examine into any complaint made by any such person or his superior officer of the arrest of such person contrary to the provisions of this section, and shall, by warrant under his hand, discharge the person, and award reasonable costs to the complainant, who may recover those costs in like manner as he might have recovered costs awarded to him by a decree against the person obtaining the process.
 
 
 
 
(3) For the recovery of such costs no court fee shall be payable by the complainant.
Property exempted from attachment
171. Neither the arms, clothes, equipment, accoutrement or necessaries of any person subject to this Act, nor any animal used by him for the discharge of his duty, shall be seized, nor shall the pay and allowances of any such person or any part thereof be attached, by direction of any civil or revenue court or any revenue officer, in satisfaction of any decree or order enforceable against him.
Application of the last two foregoing sections to reservists
172. Every person belonging to any of the categories of the Reserves of the Bangladesh Army constituted under the 1[Army and Air Force Reserves Act, 1950,] shall, when called out or engaged upon or returning from, training or service, be entitled to all the privileges accorded by sections 170 and 171 to a person subject to this Act.
Priority of hearing by courts of cases in which persons subject to this Act are concerned
173. (1) On the presentation to any court by or on behalf of any person subject to this Act of a certificate from the proper authority, that leave of absence has been granted to him or has been applied for by him for the purpose of prosecuting or defending any suit or other proceeding in such court, the court shall, on the application of such person, arrange as far as may be possible, for the hearing and final disposal of such suit or other proceeding within the period of leave so granted or applied for.
 
 
 
 
(2) The certificate from the proper authority shall state the first and the last day of leave or intended leave, and shall set forth a description of the case with respect to which the leave was granted or applied for.
 
 
(3) No fee shall be payable to the court in respect of the presentation of any such certificate, or in respect of any application by or on behalf of any such person for priority for the hearing of his case.
 
 
 
 
(4) Where the court is unable to arrange for the hearing and final disposal of the suit or other proceeding within the period of such leave or intended leave as aforesaid, it shall record its reasons for such inability and shall cause a copy thereof to be furnished to such person on his application without any payment whatever by him in respect of the application for such copy or of the copy itself or otherwise.
 
 
 
 
(5) If in any case a question arises as to the proper authority qualified to grant such certificate as aforesaid such question shall be at once referred by the court to the officer commanding the corps or unit concerned, whose decision shall be final.
Order for custody and disposal of property pending trial in certain cases
174. When any property regarding which any offence appears to have been committed, or which appears to have been used for the commission of any offence, is produced before a court martial during a trial, the court may make such order as it thinks fit for the proper custody of such property pending the conclusion of the trial and, if the property is subject to speedy or natural decay, may, after recording such evidence as it thinks necessary, order it to be sold or otherwise disposed of.
Order for disposal of property regarding which offence committed
175. (1) After the conclusion of a trial before a court martial, the court or the officer confirming the finding or sentence of such court martial, or any authority superior to such officer, or, in the case of the trial by summary court martial, an officer having power to convene a district court martial, may make such order as it or he thinks fit for the disposal by destruction, confiscation, delivery to any person claiming to be entitled to possession thereof or otherwise of any property or document produced before the court or in its custody, or regarding which any offence appears to have been committed or which has been used for the commission of any offence.
 
 
 
 
(2) Where any order has been made under sub-section (1) in respect of property regarding which an offence appears to have been committed, a copy of such order signed and certified by the authority making the same may, whether the trial was held within Bangladesh or not, be sent to a magistrate in any district in which such property for the time being is, and such magistrate shall thereupon cause the order to be carried into effect as if it was an order passed by such magistrate under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
 
 
 
 
Explanation.- In this section the term “property” includes in the case of property regarding which an offence appears to have been committed, not only such property as has been originally in the possession or under the control of any person, but also any property into or for which the same may have been converted or exchanged, and anything acquired by such conversion or exchange whether immediately or otherwise.
 
 
 
 
 
 

  • 1
    The words, commas and figures “Army and Air Force Reserves Act, 1950,” were substituted for the words, brackets, commas and figures “Pakistan (Army and Air Force) Reserves Act, 1950,” by section 4(m) of প্রতিরক্ষা কর্মবিভাগ (কতিপয় আইন সংশোধন) আইন, ২০১৬ (২০১৬ সনের ১৫ নং আইন)।
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