Indian Air Force Act, 1950
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the government of the Air Force.
Chapter I: Preliminary
Chapter II: Special Provisions for the Application of Act in Certain Cases
- 5 Application of Act to certain forces under the Central Government
- 6 Special provision as to rank in certain cases
- 7 Commanding Officer of person subject to Air Force law under clause (d) of section 2
- 8 Officers exercising powers in certain cases
- 9 Power to declare persons to be on active service 1 judgment
Chapter III: Commission, Appointment and Enrolment
Chapter IV: Conditions of Service
- 18 Tenure of service under the Act 4 judgments
- 19 Termination of service by Central Government 2 judgments
- 20 Dismissal, removal or reduction by Chief of the Air staff and other officers
- 21 Power to modify certain fundamental rights in their application to persons subject to this Act
- 22 Retirement, release or discharge 1 judgment
- 23 Certificate on termination of service
- 24 Discharge or dismissal when out of India
Chapter V: Service Privileges
- 25 Authorised deductions only to be made from pay
- 26 Remedy of aggrieved airmen
- 27 Remedy of aggrieved officers
- 28 Immunity from attachment
- 29 Immunity from arrest for debt
- 30 Immunity of persons attending courts-martial from arrest
- 31 Privileges of reservists
- 32 Priority in respect of Air Force personnel's litigation
- 33 Saving of rights and privileges under other laws
Chapter VI: Offences
- 34 Offences in relation to the enemy and punishable with death
- 35 Offences in relation to the enemy and not punishable with death
- 36 Offences punishable more severely on active service than at other times
- 37 Mutiny
- 38 Desertion and aiding desertion
- 39 Absence without leave 1 judgment
- 40 Striking or threatening superior officer 1 judgment
- 41 Disobedience to superior officer 1 judgment
- 42 Insubordination and obstruction
- 43 Fraudulent enrolment
- 44 False answers on enrolment
- 45 Unbecoming conduct 1 judgment
- 46 Certain forms of disgraceful conduct
- 47 III-treating a subordinate
- 48 Intoxication
- 49 Permitting escape of person in custody
- 50 Irregularity in connection with arrest or confinement
- 51 Escape from custody
- 52 Offences to respect of property
- 53 Extortion and corruption
- 54 Making away with equipment
- 55 Injury to property
- 56 False accusation
- 57 Falsifying official documents and false declaration
- 58 Signing in blank and failure to report
- 59 Offences relating to courts-martial
- 60 False evidence
- 61 Unlawful detention of pay
- 62 Offences in relation to aircraft and flying
- 63 Other offences relating to aircraft and flying
- 64 Disobedience of lawful command of captain of aircraft
- 65 Violation of good order and air force discipline 2 judgments
- 66 Miscellaneous offences
- 67 Attempt
- 68 Abetment of offences that have been committed
- 69 Abetment of offences punishable with death and not committed
- 70 Abetment of offences punishable with imprisonment and not committed
- 71 Civil offences
- 72 Civil offences not triable by court-martial 1 judgment
Chapter VII: Punishments
- 73 Punishments awardable by courts-martial 1 judgment
- 74 Alternative punishments awardable by court-martial
- 75 Combination of punishments
- 76 Cashiering of officers
- 77 Field punishment
- 78 Position of field punishment in scale of punishments
- 79 Result of certain punishments in the case of a warrant officer or a non-commissioned officer
- 80 Retention in the ranks of a person convicted on active service
- 81 Punishments otherwise than by court-martial
- 82 Punishment of persons other than officers and warrant officers
- 83 Requirement of sanction in certain cases 1 judgment
- 84 Limit of punishments under section 82
- 85 Punishments in addition to those specified in section 82
- 86 Punishment of officers and warrant officers
- 87 Transmission of proceedings
- 88 Review of proceedings
- 89 Superior air force authority
- 90 Collective fines
Chapter VIII: Penal Deductions
- 91 Deductions from pay and allowances of officers
- 92 Deductions from pay and allowances of airmen
- 93 Computation of time of absence of custody
- 94 Pay and allowances daring trial
- 95 Limit of certain deductions
- 96 Deduction from public money due to a person
- 97 Pay and allowances of prisoner of war during inquiry into his conduct
- 98 Remission of deductions
- 99 Provision for dependants of prisoner of war from remitted deductions
- 100 Provision for dependants of prisoner of war from his pay and allowances
- 101 Period during which a person is deemed to be a prisoner of war
Arrest and proceedings before trial
Chapter X: Courts-Martial
- 109 Different kinds of courts-martial
- 110 Power to convene a general court-martial
- 111 Power to convene a district court-martial
- 112 Contents of warrants issued under sections 110 and 111
- 113 Power to convene a summary general court-martial
- 114 Composition of general court-martial
- 115 Composition of district court-martial
- 116 Composition of summary general court-martial
- 117 Dissolution of court-martial
- 118 Powers of general and summary general courts-martial
- 119 Powers of district Court-martial
- 120 Prohibition of second trial
- 121 Period of limitation for trial
- 122 Liability of offender who ceases to be subject to Act
- 123 Place of trial
- 124 Choice between criminal court and court-martial 1 judgment
- 125 Power of criminal court to require delivery of offender 1 judgment
- 126 Successive trials by a criminal, court and a court-martial
Chapter XI: Procedure of Courts-Matrial
- 127 Presiding Officer
- 128 Judge Advocate
- 129 Challenges
- 130 Oaths of member, Judge advocate and witness
- 131 Voting by members
- 132 General rule as to evidence
- 133 Judicial notice
- 134 Summoning witnesses
- 135 Documents exempted from production
- 136 Commissions for examination of witnesses
- 137 Examination of a witness on commission
- 138 Conviction of offence not charged
- 139 Presumption as to signatures
- 140 Enrolment paper
- 141 Presumption as to certain documents
- 142 Reference by accused to Government officer
- 143 Evidence of previous convictions and general character
- 144 Lunacy of accused
- 145 Subsequent fitness of lunatic accused for trial
- 146 Transmission to Central Government of orders under section 145
- 147 Release of lunatic accused
- 148 Delivery of lunatic accused to relatives
- 149 Order for custody and disposal of property pending trial
- 150 Order for disposal of property regarding which offence is committed
- 151 Powers of courts-martial when certain offences are committed by persons not subject to this Act
Chapter XII: Confirmation and Revision
- 152 Finding and sentence not valid, unless confirmed
- 153 Power to confirm finding and sentence of general court-martial
- 154 Power to confirm finding and sentence of district court-martial
- 155 Limitation of powers of confirming authority
- 156 Power to confirm finding and sentence of summary general courts- martial
- 157 Power of confirming authority to mitigate, remit or commute sentences
- 158 Confirming of findings and sentences on board a ship
- 159 Revision of finding or sentence
- 160 Alteration of finding or sentence in certain cases
- 161 Remedy against order, finding or sentence of court-martial 4 judgments
- 162 Annulment of proceedings
Chapter XIII: Execution of Sentences
- 163 Form of sentence of death
- 164 Commencement of sentence of transportation or imprisonment 1 judgment
- 165 Execution of sentence of transportation
- 166 Execution of sentence of imprisonment
- 167 Temporary custody of offender
- 168 Execution of sentence of imprisonment in special cases
- 169 Conveyance of prisoner from place to place
- 170 Execution of sentence of detention
- 171 Communication of certain orders to prison officers
- 172 Execution of sentence of fine
- 173 Establishment and regulation of air force prisons
- 174 Informality or error in the order or warrants
- 175 Power to make rules in respect of prisons and prisoners
- 176 Restriction of rule-making power in respect to corporal punishment
Chapter XIV: Pardons Remissions and Suspensions
- 177 Pardon and remission
- 178 Cancellation of conditional pardon, release on parole or remission
- 179 Reduction of warrant officer or non-commissioned officer
- 180 Suspension of sentence of transportation, imprisonment or detention
- 181 Orders pending suspension
- 182 Release on suspension
- 183 Computation of period of suspension
- 184 Order after suspension
- 185 Reconsideration of case after suspension
- 186 Fresh sentence after suspension
- 187 Scope of power of suspension
- 188 Effect of suspension and remission on dismissal
Chapter XV: Rules
Chapter XVI: Transitory Provisions
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.