“44A. Punishment of officers below the rank of Commandant. – (1) Where an officer below the rank of Commandant is remanded for disposal of a charge against him by an authority empowered to deal summarily under section 57A, the copies of record of evidence and the charge sheet shall be delivered to him as soon as practicable, but in any case not less than twenty-four hours before the summary trial.
(2) The authority empowered under section 57A shall, unless the charge is dismissed or the accused consents to in writing to dispense with the attendance of witnesses, hear the evidence in his presence and he shall have full liberty to cross-examine any witness against him, and to make statement and examine witnesses in his defence.
(3) The trial proceedings shall, as far as practicable, be recorded in accordance with the form set out in Appendix IV A. In every case where the trial is conducted by an authority other than the Director General, the proceedings together with the conduct sheet, record of evidence and written consent of the accused to dispense with the attendance of witnesses (if any), shall be forwarded to the Director General”.