New Delhi:
When a trial is conducted by a military court it is called court martial. The military courts can award punishment to its personnel subject to military law.
Most militaries maintain a court martial system to try cases in which a breakdown of military discipline may have occurred. Some countries, however, have no court-martial at the time of peace. This is the case in France and Germany where civil courts are used instead.
In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crimes. The Geneva Convention requires that POWs who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding army's own soldiers.
Indian Army has four kinds of court martial - General Court Martial (GCM), District Court Martial (DCM), Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) and Summary Court Martial (SCM). According to the Army Act, Army courts can try personnel for all kinds of offences except for murder and rape of a civilian, which are tried by a civil court.
The Indian Army is still following the system of military justice it inherited from the British. The law in the United Kingdom has changed to keep pace with the modern practices of justice.
The provisions for summary courts martial were not introduced into the regular army till the sepoy mutiny of 1857. The discipline of the Indian Army had deteriorated before the mutiny. After the suppression of the mutiny, it was found that the position of insignificance occupied by the commandant of a regiment was a major reason for the indiscipline in the Army. The commandant had practically no power to punish or reward his own men. Here, the need of a military court was felt, and thus created. This union of power enabled the commanding officer to convict and sentence a military offender.