In force · As amended up to 2026-08
(a) "active duty", in relation to a person subject to this Act, means any duty as a member of the
Force during the period in which such person is attached to, or forms part of, a unit of the Force--
(y) "unit" includes--
(z) all words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in the Indian Penal
Code (45 of 1860), the Army Act, 1950 (45 of 1950) or the National Security Guard Act,
1986 (47 of 1986), shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Code or those Acts.
(2) In this Act, references to any law not in force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir* shall be
construed as references to the corresponding law in force in that State.
[Footnotes]
*. Vide notification No. S.O. 3912(E), dated 30th October, 2019, this Act is made applicable to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh.
(p) "member of the Force" means an officer, a subordinate officer, an under-officer or other
enrolled person;
(l) "Force Court" means a Court referred to in section 76;
(m) "Force custody" means the arrest or confinement of a member of the Force according to
rules;
(s) "officer" means a person appointed or in pay as an officer of the Force, but does not include a
subordinate officer or an under-officer;
(o) "Judge Attorney-General", "Additional Judge Attorney-General", "Deputy Judge
Attorney-General" and "Judge Attorney" mean respectively the Judge Attorney-General, an
Additional Judge Attorney-General, a Deputy Judge Attorney-General and a Judge Attorney of the
Force appointed in the appropriate rank by the Central Government;
(e) "commanding officer", used in relation to a person subject to this Act, means an officer for the
time being in command of the unit or any separate portion of the Force to which such person belongs
or is attached;
(r) "offence" means any act or omission punishable under this Act and includes a civil offence;
(c) "civil offence" means an offence which is triable by a criminal court;
(i) which is engaged in operations against an enemy, or
(ii) which is operating at a picket or engaged on patrol or other guard duty along the borders
of India,
and includes duty by such person during any period declared by the Central Government by order as a
period of active duty with reference to any area in which any person or class of persons subject to this Act
may be serving;
(b) "battalion" means a unit of the Force constituted as a battalion by the Central Government;
(f) "criminal court" means a court of ordinary criminal justice in any part of India and includes a
Court of a special Judge appointed under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1952 (46 of 1952);
(q) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(j) "enrolled person" means an under-officer or other person enrolled under this Act;
(g) "Deputy Inspector-General" and "Additional Deputy Inspector-General" mean respectively a
Deputy Inspector-General and an Additional Deputy Inspector-General of the Force appointed under
section 5;
(u) "rule" means a rule made under this Act;
(w) "superior officer", when used in relation to a person subject to this Act, means--
(x) "under-officer" means a Head Constable, a Naik or a Lance Naik of the Force;
(n) "Inspector-General" means the Inspector-General of the Force appointed under section 5;
(h) "Director-General" and "Additional Director-General" mean respectively the
Director-General and an Additional Director-General of the Force appointed under section 5;
(k) "Force" means the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force;
(t) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(v) "subordinate officer" means a person appointed or in pay as a Subedar Major, a Subedar or a
Sub-Inspector of the Force;
(d) "civil prison" means any jail or place used for the detention of any criminal prisoner under the
Prisons Act, 1894 (9 of 1894), or under any other law for the time being in force;
2. Definitions.
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(ii) any officer of a higher rank or class or of a higher grade in the same class,
and includes, when such person is not an officer, a subordinate officer or an under-officer of a higher
rank, class or grade;
(c) any other separate body of persons composed wholly or partly of persons subject to this
Act and specified as a unit by the Central Government;
(b) any separate body of persons subject to this Act employed on any service and not attached
to a unit as aforesaid;
(i) "enemy" includes all armed mutineers, armed rebels, armed rioters, pirates and any person in
arms against whom it is the duty of any person subject to this Act to take action;
(a) any body of officers and other members of the Force for which a separate authorised
establishment exists;
(i) any member of the Force to whose command such person is for the time being subject in
accordance with the rules;
Source: India Code