Is junior commissioned officer in Indian army is gazetted officer?

Answer 1

THE ARMY ACT, 1952

ACT N O. XXXIX OF 1952

[13th May, 1952]

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the

Bangladesh Army.

♣♦♠

WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law

relating to the Bangladesh Army;

(9) "junior commissioned officer" means a person commissioned, gazetted or in pay as a junior commissioned officer in the Bangladesh Army;

(10) "non-commissioned officer" means a person attested under this Act who holds a non-commissioned rank in the Bangladesh Army and includes an active noncommissioned officer

(12) "officer" means a person commissioned, gazetted or in pay as an officer of the Bangladesh Army and includes:-

(i) an officer who being a citizen of Bangladesh holds a commission in Her Majesty's Land Forces, but does not include a junior commissioned officer; and

(ii) in relation to a person subject to this Act when serving under such conditions as may be prescribed, an officer of the Bangladesh Navy and an officer of the Bangladesh Air Force;

Junior commissioned officer (JCO) is a term describing a group of military ranks found in the Indian Army, Pakistan Army, Bangladesh Army and Nepal Army. Those soldiers holding JCO rank receive a commission from the President,

During British rule, these officers were known as viceroy's commissioned officers (VCOs) except in Nepal, which was never a British colony. Under the British, there was a clear colonial context, the VCOs being the highest rank that most Indians could achieve while most full commissioned officers were British - a distinction which disappeared with Indian independence.

Senior non-commissioned officers are promoted to JCO rank on the basis of merit and seniority, restricted by the number of vacancies. Junior commissioned officers are treated as a separate class, and hold many additional privileges. In the army, they have a separate mess (the JCOs' mess) / (the CPOs mess) / (the WOs mess), get well furnished family quarters, and are authorized to travel in AC II tier on the railways / Economy class in Airlines. With good pay and privileges, it is an ambition of most enlisted men to attain such rank.

JCOs often serve as platoon leaders in an infantry company, with a major as company commander and a captain as second-in-command.

Due to their long years of service, officers accord JCOs great respect and influence, especially in cases involving the enlisted ranks, their welfare and morale. Another custom religiously followed is that a JCO is never addressed using just his name or rank. The word saheb (master) is added as a suffix (e.g.: subedar saheb or <> saheb). It is said that even the president of India / president of Pakistan has to follow this tradition.

The JCO ranks in the Indian Army / Pakistan Army (from highest to lowest) are:

• Subedar-major (infantry and other arms) / risaldar-major (cavalry and armour) / subedar major

• Subedar / risaldar / Subedar
• Naib subedar / naib risaldar / naib subedar

The JCO equivalent (or chief petty) ranks in the Indian Navy / Pakistan Navy are:

• Master chief petty officer Class 1 / Master chief petty officer
• Master chief petty officer Class 2 / Fleet chief petty officer
• Chief petty officer

The JCO equivalent (or warranted) ranks in the Indian Air Force/Pakistan Air Force are:

• Master warrant officer / Chief warrant officer
• Warrant officer
• Junior warrant officer / Assistant warrant officer

While the army JCOs receive a commission from the president, naval chief petty officer ranks and the air force warrant officer ranks receive a president warrant on promotion to the rank of chief petty officer and Junior Warrant Officer respectively. This is a certificate issued by the Commodore Bureau of Sailors or Air Marshal / AVM on behalf of the president of India / Pakistan to authenticate the promotion of a sailor to the chief rank, an air warrior to warrant rank as the CPO, MCPO II / FCPO, MCPO I / MCPO, JWO / AWO, WO, MWO / CWO ranks are classed as Junior Commissioned ranks. The warrant is made on pre-printed stationery written by hand. They are authorised to attested any legal documents/certificats. They can initiate arrest of any person who they seemed has violated the constitution.The status of class-II gagated Officer bestowed on them from the date of granted such rank irrespective they received President Warrant or not.

Army JCOs, navy chief petty officers and air force warrant ranks (JWO to MWO) are group B officers with class II gazetted status. Army JCOs, navy chief petty officers and air force warrant officers & MWOs are authorised salutes (including rifle salutes if given by an armed soldier, sailor or air warrior) while Indian navy chief petty officers are not authorised any form of salute.

NOTE: "chief petty officer" means a person commissioned, gazetted or in pay as junior commissioned officer in Pakistan Navy.

Answer 2

Yes, a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army is considered a gazetted officer.

Gazetted officers are appointed by a government authority and their appointments are published in the official government gazette. JCOs, who hold non-commissioned rank but have been granted a commission by the President of India, are considered as gazetted officers.