Punishments awardable by Security Force Courts
Section 48 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968 deals with punishments awardable by Security Force Courts. Punishments may be inflicted in respect of offences committed by persons subject to this Act and convicted by Security Force Courts according to the scale following, that is to say,— (a) death; The Act came into force on 01 Mar 1969.
(1) Punishments may be inflicted in respect of offences committed by persons subject to this Act and convicted by Security 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 from the service;
(d) imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months in Force custody;
(e) reduction to the ranks or to a lower rank or grade or place in the list of their rank in the case of an under-officer;
(f) forfeiture of seniority of rank and forfeiture of all or any part of the service for the purpose of promotion;
(g) forfeiture of service for the purpose of increased pay, pension or any other prescribed purpose;
(h) fine, in respect of civil offences;
(i) severe reprimand or reprimand except in the case of persons below the rank of an under-officer;
(j) forfeiture of pay and allowances for a period not exceeding three months for an offence committed on active duty;
(k) 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;
(l) 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.
Section 48, The Border Security Force Act, 1968 (Act 47 of 1968).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Constable Bhisham Singh v. Border Security Force
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
DATE-VERIFIED Judgement 30.05.2002: Before writ challenge, the member must exhaust the statutory representation under s.117 against SF Court findings/sentence. Prior WP withdrawn for non-exhaustion; after DG rejected the s.117 representation, the fresh writ was maintainable but failed on merits.
On this section: s.48 authorises dismissal as an SF Court punishment for Act offences including s.20(a) assault.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… of the order dated 03.10.2001 passed by the Disciplinary Authority dismissing him from service has been partly allowed and the matter has been remanded back to the disciplinary authority i.e. Commandant 23 Battalion, Border Security Force to reconsider the question regarding imposition of the penalty as per section 48 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968 (for short 'the Act of 1968' hereinafter). Learned Single Judge further directed that the Disciplinary Authority shall be at liberty to impose any penalty upon the writ petitioner- L/NK Prithvi Singh Bishnoi except the punishments prescribed under section 48(1)(a),(b),(c) & (d) …
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… of the order dated 03.10.2001 passed by the Disciplinary Authority dismissing him from service has been partly allowed and the matter has been remanded back to the disciplinary authority i.e. Commandant 23 Battalion, Border Security Force to reconsider the question regarding imposition of the penalty as per section 48 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968 (for short 'the Act of 1968' hereinafter). Learned Single Judge further directed that the Disciplinary Authority shall be at liberty to impose any penalty upon the writ petitioner- L/NK Prithvi Singh Bishnoi except the punishments prescribed under section 48(1)(a),(b),(c) & (d) …
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… differential factors were not taken into account by the Authorities while imposing the same punishment on the Post Commander and his subordinate, I feel that the punishment for the constable is required to be revisited by the authorities. The various punishments awardable by the Security Force Court are specified in Section 48 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968 (hereinafter referred to as 'the BSF Act') an d apart from dismissal, other punishment options are available under Section 48(1)(c) of the BSF Act. In my view the mitigating factors in respect of the delinquent constable were not taken into account by the BSF authorities and …
Questions about Section 48
What have the courts held on Section 48 of the Border Security Force Act?
Constable Bhisham Singh v. Border Security Force (30 May 2002) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.48 authorises dismissal as an SF Court punishment for Act offences including s.20(a) assault.
How do I find court cases under Section 48 of the Border Security Force Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Border Security Force Act 48, section 48 Border Security Force Act, section 48 of the Border Security Force Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Constable Bhisham Singh v. Border Security Force (30 May 2002).
What should I read with Section 48 of the Border Security Force Act, and has it changed?
3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 48 of the Border Security Force Act come into force?
Section 48 of the Border Security Force Act, cited as Border Security Force Act 48, came into force on 01 Mar 1969, having been enacted on 02 Sep 1968. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions660 words
- 141. Power to make rules501 words
- 96. Presumption as to certain documents470 words
- 139. Powers and duties conferrable and imposable on members of the Force410 words
- 14. Offences in relation to the enemy and punishable with death321 words
- 105. Order for disposal of property regarding which offence is committed297 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 16 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.