(1) All superior officers and members of the Rifles shall be deemed to be Police officers under the Police Act, 1861 (V of 1861).
(2) Commandant, Deputy Commandant or Assistant Commandant shall be entitled to all the privileges which a Police Officer has under sections 42 and 43 of the Police Act, 1861 and Section 125 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and under any other enactment for the time being in force; and shall, subject to such rules as the State Government may from time to time make in this behalf, exercise all the powers of a District Superintendent of Police within the meaning of the Police Act, 1861.
9[(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal procedure, 1973 (Act No. 2 of 1974) any offence committed by a member of the rifles and punishable under this Act, shall be enquired into or tried by a Rifles's court only which may be convened under section 18 A:
(i) when the offender is on leave or absent from duty or is not on active duty; or
(ii) when the offence is not connected with the offender's duties as a member of the Rifles; or
(iii) when an offence is committed by a member of the Rifles along with any other person who is not subject to this Act and whose identity is known; the offence may, if the prescribed authority, within the limits of whose jurisdiction the offence has been committed, so directs, be enquired into or tried by an ordinary criminal court having jurisdiction.]
10[18-A. Rifles Court.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 there shall be the following classes of Rifles courts, namely:
(i) General Rifles Court;
(ii) Battalion Rifles Court.
(2) For the purposes of the Act, a General Rifles court or a Battalion Rifles court may be convened by the State Government or the Inspector General of Police.
(3)(i) Every General Rifles Court shall be presided over by three members to be appointed by the State Government or the Inspector General of Police.
(ii) An officer not below the rank of a Superintendent of Police or Commandant who has completed at least seven years service in the same, equivalent or higher rank shall be the presiding judge of a General Rifles Court.
(iii) Two officers of the rank of a Superintendent of Police or a Commandant of the Rifles or an Additional Superintendent of Police or a Deputy Commandant who have completed at least three years service in the same or equivalent rank shall be the member judges of a General Rifles Court.
(4)(i) Every Battalion Rifles Court shall be presided over by three members to be appointed by the State Government or the Inspector General of Police.
(ii) An officer not below the rank of a Superintendent of Police or a Commandant of the Rifles shall be the presiding judge of a Battalion Rifles Court.
(iii) Two officers not below the rank of an Assistant Commandant of the Rifles shall be the member-judges of a Battalion Rifles Court.
(5) The decision of the majority members shall be the decision of a Rifles Court in respect of every order or judgement to be passed by such court.
(6) Subject to the other provisions of this Act,
(a) any offence under section 10 of 11A of this Act shall be tried by General Rifles Court;
(b) any offence under section 11 or 11A of this Act shall be tried by a Battalion Rifles Court:
Provided that a General Rifles Court or a Battalion Rifles Court shall not try an offence committed by a member of the Rifles against the person or property of a person who is not subject to this Act.
(c) A General Rifles Court or a Battalion Rifles Court may pass such sentence as is authorised by this Act.
18-B. Appointment of law officer. (1) Every Rifles Court may be attended by an officer not below the rank of an Inspector of Police appointed by the Inspector General of Police to act as a law officer for assisting such court.
(2) Every trial by a Rifles court under the provision of this Act shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code and Rifles Court shall be deemed to be a Court within the meaning of sections 345 and 346 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
(3) An offence committed by a member of the Rifles may be enquired into and tried even after he ceases to be a member thereof.
18-C. Powers of Revision. The State Government or the Inspector General of Police may, on its or his own motion or otherwise, call for and examine the records of any proceedings before a General Rifles Court or a Battalion Rifles Court respectively for the purpose of satisfying itself or himself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of any finding, sentence or order recorded or passed, and pass such order as it or he may think fit.
18-D. Power of the State Government to direct trial by ordinary criminal court. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act the State Government may, at any time, direct any proceeding which is to be instituted or which is pending before a Rifle Court to be tried by an ordinary criminal court of competent jurisdiction.
18-E. Reference to the State Government regarding jurisdiction. (1) If an ordinary criminal court is of opinion that an offence committed by a member of the Rifles is triable by it, such court may by a notice in writing require the Inspector General or Deputy Inspector General or the Commandant within whose command the accused person is serving or such other officer as may be prescribed to deliver over the offender to that court for trial.
(2) In every such case the officer as aforesaid, shall either comply with the order of the court or, if he is opinion that such offence is triable by a Rifles Court, refer the question to the State Government for decision and inform the court about such reference.
(3) The decision of the State Government as regards the court by which such offence is triable shall be final and no Riffles court or an ordinary criminal court shall proceed in regard to trial of such offence till the decision of the State Government.
18-F. Place of Trial. Any person subject to this Act who commits any offence may be tried and punished for such offence in any place whatever.]