Subject to the provisions of this Act, a Force Court may, on convicting a person subject to this Act of any of the offences specified in sections 16 to 48 (both inclusive) award either the particular punishment with which the offence is stated in the said sections to be punishable or, in lieu thereof, any one of the punishments lower in the scale set out in section 51 regard being had to the nature and degree of the offence.