Section 174: Restitution or compensation for theft, etc.

(1) The following provisions of this section shall have effect where a person has been convicted by a court-martial of unlawfully obtaining a property, whether by stealing, receiving or retaining it knowing or having reason to believe it to have been stolen, fraudulently misapplied or otherwise.
(2) If a property unlawfully obtained is found in the possession of the offender, it may be ordered to be delivered or paid to the person appearing to be the owner of the property.
(3) If a property (other than money) is found in the possession of the offender which appears to have been obtained by him by the conversion or by exchange of a property unlawfully obtained, the property may be ordered to be delivered to the person who appears to be the owner of the property unlawfully obtained.
(4) Where money is found in the possession of the offender, then whether or not it appears to have been unlawfully obtained, an order may be made that there shall be paid out of that money to the person appearing to be the owner of the property unlawfully obtained such sum as may be specified in the order as or towards compensation for the loss caused to the person by the offender, in so far as not otherwise made good under this Act or by recovery of the property unlawfully obtained.
(5) Where a property unlawfully obtained has been sold or given in pawn to some other person who did not then know it to have been unlawfully obtained, an order may be made that, subject to the restitution to the owner of the property sold or given in pawn, there shall be paid to that other person, out of any money found in the possession of the offender (whether or not the money appears to be proceeds of the sale or giving in pawn), such sum as may be specified in the order as or towards compensation for the loss caused to him in consequence of the sale or giving in pawn.
(6) Where a property unlawfully obtained has been given in exchange to some other person who did not then know it to have been unlawfully obtained, an order may be made that, subject to the restitution to the owner of the property given in exchange; there shall be restored to that person the property taken in exchange for the property unlawfully obtained.
(7) An order under this section may be made by the court-martial by which the offender is convicted or by the confirming authority or any reviewing authority, but an order under this section made by a court-martial shall not have effect until it is confirmed by the confirming authority and the provisions of this Part of this Act as to the confirmation and review of the proceedings of a court-martial shall apply to an order under this section as they apply to a sentence.
(8) The operation of an order under this section shall be suspended-
(a) on any case, until the expiration of the period prescribed under Part XVI of this Act as the period within which an application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the conviction must be lodged; and
(b) if an application is duly lodged, until either the application is finally refused or is withdrawn or the appeal is determined or abandoned.
(9) Where the operation of an order is suspended under this section-
(a) it shall not take effect if the conviction is quashed on appeal;
(b) the Court of Appeal may by order annul or vary the order although the conviction is not quashed;
(c) such steps shall be taken for the safe custody, during the period in which operation of the order is suspended, of the property ordered to be restored or handed over or the money to which the order relates as may he provided by rules of the Court of Appeal made under Part XVI of this Act.
(10) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (9) of this section, an order under this section shall not, so far as it relates to the delivery of property to the person appearing to be the owner of the property, be suspended if the court or authority making the order directs to the contrary in any case in which, in the opinion of the court-martial or confirming authority, the title to the property is not in dispute.
(11) An order under this section shall not bar the right of a person, other than the offender or a person claiming through him, to recover a property delivered or paid in pursuance of the order from the person to whom it is delivered or paid.
(12) In this section, "appearing" in relation to an order, means appearing to the court-martial, or reasonably believing to appear to the court-martial or to the confirming authority, or to the reviewing authority making the order, as the case may require.