(1) Punishments may be inflicted in respect of offences committed by persons subject to this Act and convicted by Force Courts according to the scale following, that is to say,—
(a) death;
(b) imprisonment which may be for the term of life or any other lesser term but excluding imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months in Force custody;
(c) dismissal or removal from the service;
(d) compulsory retirement from the service;
(e) imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months in Force custody;
(f) reduction to the ranks or to a lower rank or grade or a place in the list of their rank in the case of an under-officer;
(g) reduction to next lower rank in case of an officer or subordinate officer:
Provided that no officer shall be reduced to a rank lower than the one to which he was initially appointed;
(h) forfeiture of seniority of rank and forfeiture of all or any part of the service for the purpose of promotion;
(i) forfeiture of service for the purpose of increased pay or pension;
(j) fine, in respect of civil offences;
(k) severe reprimand or reprimand except in the case of persons below the rank of an under-officer;
(l) forfeiture of pay and allowances for a period not exceeding three months for an offence committed on active duty;
(m) forfeiture in the case of person sentenced to dismissal from the service of all arrears of pay and allowances and other public money due to him at the time of such dismissal;
(n) stoppage of pay and allowances until any proved loss or damage occasioned by the offence for which he is convicted is made good.
(2) Each of the punishments specified in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be inferior in degree to every punishment preceding it in the above scale.