Defence Act, 1954

Execution of sentence of imprisonment or detention.

229.—(1) Where a sentence of imprisonment is passed by a court-martial and confirmed, the military prisoner shall undergo the term of his imprisonment either in a military prison or detention barrack or in other service custody or in a public prison, or partly in one way and partly in another.

(2) Where a sentence of detention is passed by a court-martial and confirmed, or is passed by a commanding officer, the person on whom the sentence has been passed shall undergo the term of his detention either in a detention barrack or in service custody, or partly in one way and partly in another, but not in a public prison.

(3) A military prisoner or a man under sentence of detention may, until he reaches the prison or detention barrack in which he is to undergo his sentence, be kept in service custody or in civil custody or partly in service custody and partly in civil custody, and may by order of a competent authority be transferred from service custody to civil custody and from civil custody to service custody as occasion may require.

(4) An order of a competent authority shall be a sufficient warrant for the committal of a military prisoner to prison or a detention barrack, or a man under sentence of detention to a detention barrack.

(5) An order of a competent authority shall be a sufficient authority for the transfer of a military prisoner from prison to a detention barrack, or from a detention barrack to prison, or from one prison or detention barrack to another prison or detention barrack, or for the transfer of a man undergoing detention from one detention barrack to another, or for the delivery into service custody of a military prisoner or a man undergoing detention.

(6) A military prisoner or a man undergoing detention may at any time, if his sentence is remitted, be released by order of a competent authority.

(7) A military prisoner or a man undergoing detention may, during his conveyance from place to place, be subjected to such restraint as is necessary for his safe conduct and removal.

(8) A military prisoner while in a public prison shall be confined, kept to hard labour and otherwise dealt with in the same manner as an ordinary prisoner under a like sentence of imprisonment.

(9) Where the hospital or place for reception of sick persons in a prison or a detention barrack is detached from the prison or detention barrack, a military prisoner or a man undergoing detention may be detained in that hospital or place, and conveyed to or from the same as circumstances require.

(10) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the expression “detention barrack” includes a barrack detention room;

(b) each of the following shall be a competent authority, namely, the Minister and every prescribed officer, and different officers may be so prescribed for different such purposes.