(1) When the presence of a witness, required to give evidence before a commanding officer or an officer preparing the summary of evidence or before a Board Inquiry or before a court-martial cannot otherwise be obtained, summons may be issued in accordance with the following provisions:-
(a) the summons shall be in the prescribed form.
(b) In the case of a witness subject to Naval Law or a Law relating to the Government of the regular Army or Air force, the summons shall be served upon the individual through his Commanding Officer or other superior authority as may be most convenient and in the case of any other witness who is a Government servant, the summons may be served upon the head of the office in which he is serving.
(c) In the case of every witness the summons shall be served by causing it to be delivered personally or sending it by registered post or it may, in accordance with section 134(4), be sent to the Magistrate in whose jurisdiction the witness may be or resides.
(2) The prescribed officers under sub-section (2) of section 134 relating to the summoning of witnesses before a Commanding Officer or the officer preparing a summary of evidence shall be the Administrative Authority or the Judge Advocate and the prescribed officers under that sub-section relating to the summoning of the witnesses before a Board of Inquiry, shall be the convening authority or the president of the Board.
(3) A civilian witness in Government service not subject to Naval law, who is summoned under section 134 attend a court-martial, disciplinary court, Board of Inquiry or before the Commanding Officer or other officer preparing a summary of evidence, shall be entitled to receive traveling allowances under civil rules or Traveling Regulations according to whether he is serving in a civil department or in the Defence Services, provided that the facts as to which he is to give evidence have come to his knowledge in the discharge of his public duties.
(4) A civilian witness, not subject to Naval law and not in Government service, when called to appear before a court-martial, disciplinary court, Board of Inquiry or before the Commanding officer or other officer preparing a summary of evidence shall be entitled to traveling and subsistence allowances at the rates fixed by the local Government, High Courts or administrations for non-official witness appearing before the Courts of law under their jurisdiction and such rates of allowances shall be ascertained and paid through the Magistrate where witnesses are called through him and in other cases, the rates of the allowances shall be ascertained from the Magistrate in whose jurisdiction the witness resides at the time he is summoned to give evidence and paid by the summoning authority.
(5) It shall be the duty of summoning authority to advance to the witness, through the Magistrate if he is called through a Magistrate, otherwise direct, a sufficient sum to cover his traveling expenses and arrange payment to him of the subsistence allowance expenses on account of return conveyance before he leaves the station to which he is summoned.
(6) Civilian witnesses, not subject to Naval Law and not in Government service, when called upon to give expert evidence shall, in addition, be paid fees for their expert evidence or service subject to the approval of the competent financial authority under whose powers the amount at issue falls.
(7) Private individuals employed as interpreters and shorthand writers before a court-martial, disciplinary court or board of Inquiry shall be paid out of pocket expenses for their services at the discretion of the president of the court-martial, disciplinary court or Board of Inquiry subject to the approval of the competent financial authority under whose powers the amount at issue falls.