The Bangladesh Rifles Order, 1972 (President's Order)

WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the constitution of Bangladesh Rifles and matters ancillary thereto; NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance of the Proclamation of Independence of Bangladesh, read with the Provisional Constitution of Bangladesh Order, 1972, and in exercise of all powers enabling him in that behalf, the President is pleased to make the following Order:-

(1) This Order may be called the Bangladesh Rifles Order, 1972.

(2) It extends to the whole of Bangladesh.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

(1) In this Order, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-

¹(a) “Commanding officer” means an officer commanding a unit or a body of men belonging to the Force;

(b) “Company” means a sub-unit composed of several platoons, forming part of, or attached to the Wing;

(c) “Detachment” means a sub-unit of a company and composed of a body of men operating independently, detached from the Company Headquarters;

²(d) “Director-General” means the Director-General of the Force;

(e) “Force” means the Bangladesh Rifles constituted under this Order;

(f) “officer” means a superior officer or a subordinate officer;

(g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Order;

(h) “Rifleman or Signalman” means a member of the Force other than an officer specified in clauses (1) and (2) of Article 6;

(i) “Sector Commander” means an officer of the rank of Deputy Director who commands a sector composed of two to four wings;

³(j) “Special Court” means a Court constituted under Article 10AA;

(k) “Special Summary Court” means a Court consisting of two superior officers and one subordinate officer, constituted by ⁴the Director-General and presided over by an officer not below the rank of Assistant Director;

(l) “subordinate officer” means an officer specified in Article 5(2);

(m) “superior officer” means an officer specified in Article 5(1);

(n) “unit” means a unit of the Force; and

(o) “wing” means any separate unit of the Force composed of several Companies;

(2) The expressions “reasons to believe”, “criminal force”, “assault”, “fraudulently” and “voluntarily causing hurt” shall have the meanings assigned to them respectively in the Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860).

Every person appointed or enrolled under this Order shall be subject to this Order wherever he may be and shall remain so subject until his discharge in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

(1) There shall be raised and maintained in accordance with the provisions of this Order a Force to be called the Bangladesh Rifles.

(2) The Force shall consist of such number and classes of Officers and Riflemen and Signalmen and shall be constituted in such manner as the Government may from time to time direct.

⁵(3) The Force shall be a disciplined force within the meaning of Article 152 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

⁶5. (1) There shall be ⁷a Director-General of the Force and may be all or any of the following classes of the superior officers of the Force, namely:-

⁸(a) Director;

(b) Deputy Director;

(c) Assistant Director;

(d) Deputy Assistant Director.

(2) There may be all or any of the following classes of sub-ordinate officers of the Force, namely:-

(a) Subedar-Major;

(b) Subedar;

(c) Naib-Subedar.

(3) The Government shall appoint the ⁹Director-General and other superior officers and the ¹⁰Director-General shall appoint the subordinate officers in such manner and on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed.

(4) The ¹¹Director-General and the other superior officers shall possess, and may exercise, such powers and authority over the officers sub-ordinate to them and the Rifleman and Signalman for the time being under their command as is provided by or under this Order.

¹²6. (1) There may be all or any of the following classes of Riflemen of the Force, namely :-

(a) Havildar-Major;

(b) Havildar and Havildar Assistant;

(c) Naik and Naik Assistant;

(d) Lance-Naik and Lance-Naik Assistant;

(e) Buglar and Sepoy and Sepoy Assistant;

(f) Non-combatant (Enrolled).

(2) There may be all or any of the following classes of Signalman of the Force, namely :-

(a) Havildar-Major;

(b) Havildar and Havildar Assistant;

(c) Naik and Naik Assistant;

(d) Lance-Naik and Lance-Naik Assistant;

(e) Signalman Sepoy and Sepoy Assistant;

(f) Non-combatant (Enrolled).

(3) The Riflemen or Signalmen shall be enrolled in such manner, for such period and on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed.

The superintendence of the Force shall vest in the Government and the Force shall be administered, commanded and controlled by the ¹³Director-General in accordance with the provisions of this Order and any rules made thereunder and such orders and instructions as may be made or issued by the Government from time to time.

The Force shall be employed for the purpose of the following services namely:-

(a) border protection;

(b) anti-smuggling work; and

(c) any other task as the Government may direct.

It shall be the duty of every Officer or Rifleman or Signalman promptly to obey and execute all orders and warrants lawfully issued to him by any competent authority and to apprehend all persons whom he is legally authorised to apprehend and for whose apprehension sufficient grounds exist and deliver such persons to the custody of the police.

Every persons subject to this Order shall be entitled to receive his discharge from the Force on the expiration of the period for which he was appointed or enrolled and may, before the expiration of that period, be discharged from the Force by the Government, ¹⁴Director-General or such other officer and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

¹⁵10A. (1) A subordinate officer or a Rifleman or a Signalman, who-

(a) begins, excites, causes or joins in any mutiny or sedition or, being present at any mutiny or sedition, does not make his utmost endeavours to suppress it, or, knowing, or having reason to believe in the existence, of any mutiny or sedition, does not, without delay, give information thereof to his Commanding officer or superior officer; or

(b) uses, or attempts to use, criminal force to, or commits an assault on, his superior officer, knowing or having reason to believe him to be such, whether on or off duty; or

(c) abandons or delivers up any garrison, fortress, post or guard or wireless station which is committed to his charge or which it is his duty to defend; or

(d) in the presence of an enemy or any person in arms against whom it is his duty to act, casts away his arms or his ammunition, or intentionally uses words or any other means to induce any other subordinate officer or Rifleman or Signalman to abstain from acting against the enemy, or any such person, or to discourage any such subordinate officer or Rifleman or Signalman from acting against the enemy or such person, or who otherwise misbehaves; or

(e) directly or indirectly holds correspondence with, or communicates intelligence to, or assists, or relieves, any enemy or person in arms against the State, or omits to discover immediately to his Commanding officer or superior officer any such correspondence or communication coming to his knowledge; or

(f) directly or indirectly assists or relieves with money, victuals or ammunition, or knowingly harbours or protects any enemy or person in arms against the State; or

(g) without authority leaves his Commanding officers, or his post or party, to go in search of plunder; or

(h) quits his guard, picquet, party or patrol without being regularly relieved or without leave; or

(i) uses criminal force to, or commits and assault on, any person bringing provisions or other necessaries to camp or quarters, or forces a safeguard, or without authority breaks into any house or any other place for plunder, or plunders, destroys or damages any property of any kind; or

(j) intentionally causes or spreads a false alarm in action, camp, garrison or quarters,

shall, on conviction by the Special Court, be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to Taka one hundred.

(2) The Special Court may take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Article either of its own motion or on a complaint by any officer and shall follow such procedures as may be prescribed.

(3) A subordinate officer or a Rifleman or Signalman accused of an offence under this Order shall have the right to conduct his own defence or to have assistance of any officer of the Force or of any legal practitioner of his own choice.

10AA

¹⁶10AA.(1) Director-General may, by an order constitute a Special Court consisting of not less than two superior officers and he may preside over it or the said Court may be presided over by a superior officer not below the rank of Director. (2) Director-General may, by an order reconstitute any of the existing Special Courts, consisting of not less than two superior officers and the reconstituted Court may be presided over by a superior officer not below the rank of Director. (3) Special Court as mentioned in clause (1) and (2) shall be assisted by the Attorney General or his representative. (4) A Special Court constituted or reconstituted after the commencement of the Bangladesh Rifles (Amendment) Act, 2010, unless it requires for ensuring justice, shall not recall or re-hear any witness whose evidence has already been recorded, or re-open proceedings already held, but may act on the evidence already produced or recorded and continue the trial from the stage which the case has reached.

(1) A subordinate officer or a Rifleman or a Signalman who-

shall, on conviction by a Special Summary Court, be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to Taka two hundred.

(2) The Special Summary Court may take cognizance of offence punishable under this Article either of its own motion or on complaint by any person and shall follow such procedures as may be prescribed.

(3) A subordinate officer or a Rifleman or a Signalman on conviction by a Special Summary Court under this Article may prefer an appeal to the Sector Commander or to an officer of equivalent rank in the line of command within fifteen days of announcement of the judgement; and a second appeal may be preferred to the ¹⁷Director-General within thirty days of disposal of the first appeal.]

¹⁸11A. Any subordinate officer, Rifleman or Signalman sentenced under this Order to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months shall, when he is also dismissed from the Force, be imprisoned in the nearest or such other Jail as the Government may, by general or special order, direct, but when he is not also dismissed from the Force, he may, if the convicting Court or the Magistrate so directs, be confined in the quarter-guard or such other place as such Court or Magistrate may deem fit.

(1) Subject to such rules as the Government may make under this Order, the ¹⁹Director-General may, at any time, award any one or more of the following punishments to any subordinate officer or any Rifleman or Signalman whom he finds to be guilty of disobedient, neglect of duty or remissness in the discharge of any duty, or of rendering himself unfit to discharge his duty, or of other misconduct in his capacity as a subordinate officer or Rifleman or Signalman, namely:-

²⁰(j) rigorous imprisonment up to twenty-eight days in unit quarter-guard;

(2) The ²¹Director-General may place under suspension any Subordinate Officer or any Rifleman or Signalman against whom action under clause (i) is required to be taken or against whom any investigation or any enquiry is required to be made.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), no Subordinate Officer or Rifleman or Signalman shall be awarded any punishment under this Article unless he has been given an opportunity of being heard.

(4) Any subordinate Officer or Rifleman or Signalman aggrieved by any action taken under sub-clause (a) to (i) of clause (1) may prefer an appeal to the prescribed authority in the prescribed manner.

Section 12. [Omitted]

[Omitted by section 8 of the Bangladesh Rifles (Amendment) Act, 1974 (Act No. XV of 1974).]

Whenever any person subject to this Order deserts, his Commanding Officer shall give written information of the desertion to such civil authorities as in his opinion may be able to afford assistance towards the capture of the deserter and such authorities shall thereupon take steps for apprehension of the said deserter in like manner as if he were a person for whose apprehension a warrant had been issued by a Magistrate and shall deliver the deserter, when apprehended, to the custody of the Force.

No person subject to this Order shall be at liberty to resign his appointment or to withdraw himself from all or any of the duties of his appointment, without the sanction of the Commanding Officer with whom he is serving or of some other Officer authorised by the Commanding Officer to grant such sanction.

Section 15. [Omitted]

[Omitted by section 8 of the Bangladesh Rifles (Amendment) Act, 1974 (Act No. XV of 1974).]

²²16. (1) The Government may, by order in writing, delegate, in respect of such Superior Officer as it may think fit, its power of ²³appointment, posting and transfer to the Director General.

(2) The Director General may, by order in writing, delegate, to such extent and in respect of such Subordinate Officer or such Rifleman or Signalman as he may think fit, the powers conferred upon him by any provision of this Order to any Superior Officer.

²⁴16A. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Police Act, 1861 (V of 1861), or in any other enactment for the time being in force, the Government may invest the ²⁵Director-General with the powers of a Magistrate First Class for the purpose of enquiring into or trying any offence committed by a subordinate officer, Rifleman or Signalman against the person or property of another subordinate officer, Rifleman or Signalman and punishable under any provision of the Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860), or of any other law in force in Bangladesh.

Section 16B. [Omitted]

[Omitted by section 5 of the Bangladesh Rifles (Amendment) Act, 1975 (Act No. XL of 1975).]

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any superior officer for anything which is done or intended to be done in good faith under this Order. ]

(1) The Rifles Act, 1920 (Act II of 1920) is hereby repealed.

(2) All employees of the Organisation set up under the Rifles Act, 1920 (Act II of 1920) who were appointed before the commencement of this Order shall, on such commencement, become employees of the Organisation set up under this Order and shall hold their offices and services in that Organisation on the same terms and conditions as are applicable to them immediately before the commencement of this Order.

(3) All properties, movable and immovable, funds, liabilities and records of the Organisation set up under the Rifles Act, 1920 (Act II of 1920) shall on the commencement of this Order, stand transferred to and vested in the Organisation set up, under this Order.

All rules and regulations made under the Rifles Act, 1920 (Act II of 1920), and in force immediately before the repeal thereof shall mutatis mutandis and so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Order, continue in force until repealed or altered by rules made under this Order.

(1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Order.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may-