English title translated by Policy Nepal for navigation. The Nepali legal text is authoritative.
- Type
- Act
- Year
- २०७४ BS
- Status
- In force
- Category
- खण्ड २: अदालत तथा न्याय प्रशासन · Volume 2: Courts and Administration of Justice
- Official text
- Official page Official text (PDF)
Analysis drawn from official reports, court rulings and published research, each cited. Figures are being double-checked against the source documents; corrections are welcome.
What does it do?
- The Act governs how courts decide and carry out sentences for criminal offences. After convicting someone, a court must hold a separate sentencing hearing in open court, may order a pre-sentence report for offences carrying more than three years, must consider the purposes of punishment and listed aggravating and mitigating factors, set separate sentences for multiple offences, apply special considerations for children, and state its reasons. If the law changes after an offence, the lighter penalty applies.यो ऐनले फौजदारी कसूरमा सजाय कसरी निर्धारण र कार्यान्वयन गर्ने भन्ने व्यवस्था गर्छ। कसूरदार ठहर गरेपछि अदालतले खुला इजलासमा सजायबारे छुट्टै सुनुवाइ गर्नुपर्छ, तीन वर्षभन्दा बढी सजाय हुने कसूरमा सजायपूर्वको प्रतिवेदन तयार गर्न आदेश दिन सक्छ, सजायको उद्देश्य तथा तोकिएका गम्भीर र कम गराउने आधार विचार गर्नुपर्छ, एकभन्दा बढी कसूरमा छुट्टाछुट्टै सजाय तोक्नुपर्छ, बालबालिकाको हकमा विशेष कुरा विचार गर्नुपर्छ र कारण खुलाउनुपर्छ। कसूर गरेपछि कानून बदलिएमा घटी सजाय लागू हुन्छ। Nepal Law Commission Sections 5, 8–17, pp. 3–11
- Fines must be set with regard to the offender's means and must not prevent payment of compensation to the victim. Instead of prison, courts may order community service for sentences up to six months, suspend sentences under one year, send people to correctional homes or drug rehabilitation centres, allow weekend or night-only imprisonment, place prisoners who have served two-thirds of their sentence in open prisons, or put them to physical labour in lieu of prison.जरिवाना तोक्दा कसूरदारको आर्थिक अवस्था हेर्नुपर्छ र पीडितलाई दिनुपर्ने क्षतिपूर्तिमा असर पर्ने गरी तोक्न हुँदैन। कैदको सट्टा अदालतले छ महिनासम्मको कैदमा सामुदायिक सेवा, एक वर्षभन्दा कमको कैद निलम्बन, सुधार गृह वा लागूऔषध पुनर्स्थापना केन्द्रमा पठाउने, सप्ताहान्त वा राति मात्र कारागारमा बस्ने, कैदको दुई तिहाइ भुक्तान गरेकालाई खुला कारागारमा राख्ने वा कैदबापत शारीरिक श्रममा लगाउने आदेश दिन सक्छ। Nepal Law Commission Sections 18–28, 31, pp. 11–23
- A prisoner sentenced to more than one year who has served two-thirds of the term with good conduct may be released on parole by a district judge on the recommendation of a Probation and Parole Board, subject to conditions monitored by a parole officer. The Act also provides for prisoners' reintegration, correctional programmes, sentence remission for eligible prisoners, and a Sentencing Advisory Committee to propose sentencing policy.एक वर्षभन्दा बढी कैद सजाय पाई दुई तिहाइ अवधि भुक्तान गरेका र आचरण राम्रो भएका कैदीलाई प्रोबेसन तथा प्यारोल बोर्डको सिफारिसमा जिल्ला न्यायाधीशले प्यारोलमा राख्न सक्छन्; प्यारोल अधिकृतले सर्त पालनाको अनुगमन गर्छन्। ऐनमा कैदीको सामाजिकीकरण, सुधारात्मक कार्यक्रम, योग्य कैदीको कैद कट्टा र सजाय नीति सुझाउन सजाय सुझाव समितिको व्यवस्था पनि छ। Nepal Law Commission Sections 29–30, 33, 37–39, 46–47, 49, pp. 20–34
- Courts must order offenders to compensate victims, payable immediately and shared among co-offenders, and the Government must set up a Victim Relief Fund to cover victims' treatment and other immediate needs.अदालतले कसूरदारलाई पीडितलाई क्षतिपूर्ति तिर्न आदेश दिनुपर्छ, जुन तत्काल बुझाउनुपर्छ र एकभन्दा बढी कसूरदार भए सबैले व्यहोर्नुपर्छ; पीडितको औषधोपचार र अन्य तत्काल आवश्यकताका लागि नेपाल सरकारले पीडित राहत कोष खडा गर्नुपर्छ। Nepal Law Commission Sections 41–43, 48, pp. 29–33
Gaps, loopholes and improvement ideas
- Not enforced Parole under Section 29 is used on a small scale and with limited follow-up. The Auditor General reported that, according to the Department of Prison Management, 1,287 prisoners had been recommended for parole by FY 2080/81 and 1,527 by FY 2081/82 (240 that year), against a prison population of about 28,600, and that 6 and then 49 parolees had lost contact with the authorities.दफा २९ बमोजिमको प्यारोलको प्रयोग सानो स्तरमा भएको र अनुगमन सीमित रहेको देखिन्छ। कारागार व्यवस्थापन विभागको विवरणअनुसार आ.व. २०८०/८१ सम्म १,२८७ जना र २०८१/८२ सम्म १,५२७ जना (सो वर्ष २४०) लाई प्यारोलमा राख्न सिफारिस भएको (करिब २८,६०० कैदीबन्दी रहेको अवस्थामा), र प्यारोलमा रहेकामध्ये क्रमशः ६ र ४९ जना सम्पर्कविहीन रहेको महालेखापरीक्षकले उल्लेख गरेको छ। Office of the Auditor General, Nepal · Office of the Auditor General, Nepal OAG 62nd report, Ministry of Home Affairs chapter para 15, PDF p. 335 (printed p. 305) and para 14, PDF p. 334; OAG 63rd report para 14, PDF p. 298 (printed p. 266); Act Section 29, pp. 20–22
Where does it conflict with other laws?
No conflict with another law is documented in the sources we have reviewed so far.