NEB Class 12 · Past paper
The complete NEB Class 12 2083 exam paper for Civil and Criminal Law and Justice, all 22 questions with solved model answers.
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पारिवारिक कानुन केलाई भनिन्छ ? / What is a family law called?
Family law is a branch of civil (private) law. It governs the relations that arise within a family. These include marriage, partition (अंशबण्डा), succession and inheritance (अपुताली), and adoption. In Nepal it is now written mainly in the Muluki Civil Code 2074 (2017).
देवानी र फौजदारी न्याय बीच किन भिन्नता छुट्याउन आवश्यक छ ? / Why is it necessary to distinguish between civil and criminal justice?
We must separate them because the two differ in purpose, parties and proof. Civil justice compensates a private party, and it is decided on the balance of probability. Criminal justice punishes an offence against the state, and it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Knowing the difference tells us which procedure, parties and remedy apply to a given dispute.
देवानी कानुनमा वादी र प्रतिवादी कसलाई भनिन्छ ? परिभाषा दिनुहोस् । / Who are the plaintiff and defendant called in civil law? Define. अथवा (Or) मुलुकी देवानी संहिता, २०७४ अन्तर्गत रहेका देवानी कानुनका सिद्धान्तहरू वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / Describe the principles of civil law as outlined under the Muluki Civil Code, 2074 (2017).
(a) Plaintiff and defendant. A civil case has two opposing sides. The plaintiff (वादी) is the person who files the suit. The plaintiff claims that one of their rights has been violated. The plaintiff asks the court for a remedy. The remedy may be compensation, partition (अंशबण्डा) or a declaration of right. The defendant (प्रतिवादी) is the person the claim is brought against. The defendant must answer it with a defence. For example, suppose a tenant refuses to leave after the lease ends. The owner files the suit, so the owner is the plaintiff. The tenant is the defendant. The plaintiff is the one who makes the claim. So the burden of proving it rests on the plaintiff. The plaintiff must prove the case on the balance of probability. If the owner cannot prove the lease has ended, the claim fails.
(b) Principles of civil law under the Muluki Civil Code 2074. The code is built on a set of guiding principles:
मुलुकी देवानी संहिता, २०७४ अनुसार 'अंशबण्डा र अपुताली' सम्बन्धी कानुनी व्यवस्थाहरूको विस्तृत विवरण दिनुहोस् । / Detail the legal provisions regarding 'Partition and Succession/Inheritance' as per Muluki Civil Code, 2074 (2017).
The Muluki Civil Code 2074 (2017) treats property as a central civil right. It sets out in detail how family property is divided during life. This is done through partition. It also sets out how property passes on death. This is done through succession. Both rest on one key value of the Code: equality between sons and daughters. Both are made certain through registration and mutation of records.
(a) Partition (अंशबण्डा). Partition means dividing the joint family property. Each member then takes a separate share to hold in their own name. The people entitled to a share are the coparceners (अंशियार). They are broadly the husband, wife, father, mother, son and daughter living in the joint family. The Code's main principle here is equality. Each coparcener gets an equal share. A son and a daughter have an equal right in ancestral property. This was a major reform from the old law, which gave daughters less.
Here is an example. Think of a joint family with a father, a mother, a son and a daughter. They hold ancestral land. On partition, it is divided into four equal portions. The daughter takes the same as the son. Any coparcener may ask for partition. It is given legal effect through a partition deed (अंशबण्डाको लिखत). This deed names the property and the shares. The property is immovable, so the deed is registered. The land records are then corrected by mutation (दाखिल खारेज) at the land revenue office (मालपोत कार्यालय). Each sharer's name is entered against their portion. The family's debts are divided along with its property. So a separated coparcener takes both the share and the matching burden. Sometimes the coparceners cannot agree. Then a coparcener may go to court. The court orders division on the same equal-share basis.
(b) Succession and inheritance (अपुताली). Succession decides who gets a person's property when they die. It applies when the person died without partitioning their property in their lifetime. The Code lays down an order of heirs based on nearness of relationship. The property passes first to the closest relatives. These are people like the surviving spouse, sons and daughters, and others of the immediate family. It passes to more distant relatives only if the near ones do not exist. Here too, sons and daughters inherit equally. For example, say a man dies owning an unpartitioned house. He leaves a widow, a son and a daughter. These three take as the nearest heirs. The son and daughter share equally.
One more rule completes the scheme. Sometimes a person dies leaving no heir at all within the recognised degrees of relationship. The property does not become ownerless. It escheats to the Government of Nepal (नेपाल सरकार).
Taken together, partition and succession make sure family property always has a clear, lawful owner. Division is recorded in public through registration and mutation. This keeps titles certain. And the Code's value of equality between sons and daughters runs through both the division of property during life and its inheritance after death.
विवाहको परिचय एक वाक्यमा दिनुहोस् । / Introduce marriage in a sentence.
Marriage (विवाह) is the union recognised by society and by law. In it a man and a woman accept each other as husband and wife after meeting the conditions in the Muluki Civil Code 2074. It creates a lasting relationship. From it flow mutual legal rights and duties.
मुलुकी देवानी संहिता, २०७४ मा व्यवस्था भए बमोजिम पारपाचुके (सम्बन्ध विच्छेद) गर्न पाउने आधारहरूबारे तपाईंलाई के थाहा छ ? वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / What do you know about the main grounds of getting divorced as provisioned in Muluki Civil Code, 2074 (2017)? Explain.
Divorce (पारपाचुके), also called सम्बन्ध विच्छेद, is the formal legal ending of a marriage. It applies to a marriage that was validly formed. In Nepal marriage is treated as a serious and lasting relationship. Rights of maintenance, property and succession all depend on it. So the Muluki Civil Code 2074 does not allow it to be ended on a mere wish or a passing quarrel. Instead it allows divorce in two ways. The first is on the mutual consent of the husband and wife. The second is at the request of one spouse on grounds recognised by the Code. This balance protects marriage as an institution. At the same time it gives real relief where the relationship has truly broken down.
The Code recognises several grounds. It helps to see how each one works in practice.
The first ground is living separately. A spouse may seek divorce where the two have lived apart for the period the law sets. Long separation shows that the marriage no longer works. Suppose a husband and wife have lived in different districts with no marital relationship for the set period. That fact itself founds a claim.
The second ground is desertion. Desertion means the abandonment of one spouse by the other without a good reason. An example is a husband who simply leaves the household and cuts off all contact.
The third ground is the failure to provide maintenance. This means a spouse fails to supply food, clothing and the ordinary support that marriage requires. This ground is available especially to the wife. It protects her where a husband neglects his duty of support.
The fourth ground is cruelty. Cruelty means causing physical or mental harm that makes it unsafe or unbearable to keep living together. This is a serious ground. A wife who is repeatedly beaten need not stay in the marriage. The same is true for a wife who suffers grave mental torture.
The fifth ground is impotency. This means a spouse is unable to maintain the marital relationship. A further ground is a spouse taking another husband or wife during the marriage. The law requires monogamy. It treats bigamy both as a ground for divorce and as a punishable offence.
One feature of the Code is worth noting. It does not make every ground available to both spouses equally. It sets some grounds that only the wife may use. It sets some other grounds that only the husband may use. This reflects the different situations in which each may need protection. For instance, a wife may seek divorce where the husband fails in his duty of maintenance. She may also seek it where he takes another wife. These grounds address problems that a wife has historically faced.
Whichever route is used, divorce is granted through the competent authority or the court. It is not done privately. On dissolution the law requires the related matters to be settled. The first is the division of property between the spouses. The second is the maintenance that may be due. The third is the custody and upbringing of children. In this way the end of the marriage does not leave the weaker party or the children without protection. Consider a wife who obtains a divorce. She did so after years of neglect and a second marriage by the husband. The same proceeding will fix her property share. It will also fix the arrangements for any children. She is not left to a fresh fight. In this way the Muluki Civil Code 2074 gives an orderly, ground-based system of divorce. It relieves broken marriages while safeguarding the rights that flowed from them.
यदि कुनै दम्पतिले दस बर्षीय बच्चालाई अदालती प्रक्रिया अनुसार धर्मपुत्र / धर्मपुत्री राख्ने मान्यता प्राप्त गरेका छन् भने त्यस्तो बच्चाको कानुनी हैसियत के हुन्छ ? / If a ten year old child is adopted by a couple through court proceedings, what will be the legal status of that child?
A couple has adopted a ten year old child through the proper court proceedings. This is done under the Muluki Civil Code 2074. So the adoption is valid. From that point, the child's legal status changes completely. The law now treats the child as their own. The main effects are these.
(a) Treated as a natural child. In law, the adopted child (धर्मपुत्र / धर्मपुत्री) is now the child of the adopting couple. The child can use their family name. The child also has the right to be maintained, educated and brought up by them.
(b) Property rights. The child becomes a coparcener in the adopting family. A coparcener is a family member with a right in the joint family property. So the child can claim a share in partition (अंशबण्डा). The child can also inherit (अपुताली) the adopter's property. The child holds these rights on the same footing as a child born to them.
(c) Duties. In return, the child owes the normal duties of a child. These include respect for the adopting parents. They also include the care and support of those parents in their old age.
(d) Tie with birth family. The legal link with the original family is generally cut. So the child usually no longer has a right of inheritance or partition in the biological family. The law does not allow a full child's share in two families at once.
For example, the adopting father later dies. He leaves land and a house. The ten year old is now his son in law. So the child claims a child's share exactly as a natural son would. But the child usually cannot also claim a share from his birth parents. In short, the court-recognised adoption gives the ten year old the full legal position of a natural child of the couple.
नेपालमा धर्मपुत्र / धर्मपुत्री बदर हुने वा बदर गराउन सकिने कानुनी व्यवस्थाहरू बारे वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / Explain the legal provisions regarding the revocation of adoption in Nepal.
Under the Muluki Civil Code 2074, adoption (धर्मपुत्र / धर्मपुत्री) is meant to be a lasting relationship. Even so, the law accepts that it may be cancelled or revoked (बदर) in certain situations. This is not left to the private wish of the parties. It is allowed only on recognised grounds. It is normally done through a court or the proper legal process. The main grounds are these.
(a) Breach of legal conditions. The Code requires certain conditions, such as the rules on age, eligibility or consent. An adoption made without meeting these conditions can be challenged and set aside as invalid. For example, a person already had a child of his own but still adopted. This breaks the condition. So that adoption may be undone.
(b) Fraud or coercion. The adoption may have been brought about by fraud or coercion. It may also have been brought about by hiding important facts. In such a case, the adoption may be revoked. The reason is that genuine consent was missing.
(c) Serious misconduct. The relationship may be ended for serious misconduct. This happens when the adopted child gravely mistreats, harms or abandons the adopting parents. For example, a grown adopted son drives his aged parents out and denies them support. It can also happen when the adopter seriously fails in the duties of a parent towards the child.
When an adoption is validly revoked, the artificial parent-child relationship comes to an end. The rights of inheritance and partition (अंशबण्डा) that came from it also fall away. So the former adopted child usually loses the share he or she could otherwise have claimed. The precise grounds and procedure are laid down in the Code.
करारको परिपालना, करारको उल्लंघन तथा उपचारको बारेमा नेपालको कानुनमा के प्रावधान छन् ? वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / What provisions are there in Nepalese law regarding the performance of contract, breach of contract and their remedies? Explain. अथवा (Or) करारको अर्थ र आवश्यक तत्त्वहरू वर्णन गर्दै कुन कुन अवस्थामा करारको समाप्ती हुन्छ ? लेख्नुहोस् । / Describe the meaning and elements of a contract and the circumstances under which a contract is considered discharged.
A contract (करार) is an agreement between two or more persons. The law recognises and enforces it. So it creates rights and duties that bind the parties who make it. Not every agreement is a contract. A purely social promise creates no legal duty. An agreement becomes a contract only when two things are true. The parties must intend it to bind them. And the law must be willing to support it. In Nepal the general law of contract is contained in the Muluki Civil Code 2074 (2017). This Code brought the subject into the single civil code.
For an agreement to be a valid contract, several essential elements must be present together. There must be a lawful offer (प्रस्ताव) and a matching acceptance. In this way the parties agree on the same thing. There must be free consent (स्वतन्त्र सहमति). This means the agreement is not obtained by coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation or mistake. The parties must be competent. That is, they must be of sound mind, of the age of majority, and not disqualified by law. There must be lawful consideration and a lawful object. The terms must be certain and capable of performance. The parties must intend to create a legal relationship. And the agreement must not be one the law expressly declares void. Here is an illustration. An adult of sound mind agrees to buy a motorcycle from a dealer at a stated price. He does this freely and honestly. All these elements are satisfied, so a binding contract arises. Now change one fact. Suppose the buyer were a minor. Or suppose he had been tricked by a false statement about the motorcycle. Then an essential element would be missing. The agreement would not stand as a valid contract.
Once formed, a contract does not last for ever. It is discharged when the parties are freed from their duties under it. The commonest and best mode is discharge by performance. This is when each side carries out its promise. An example is a borrower who repays a loan in full on the due date. A contract may also be discharged by mutual agreement. This is when the parties agree to cancel, replace or change it. It includes novation (substituting a new contract), rescission (cancelling it) and remission (accepting less than full performance). A contract may be discharged by subsequent impossibility or frustration. This is when a later event beyond the parties' control makes performance impossible or unlawful. For example, goods that were the very subject of the contract are destroyed before delivery through nobody's fault. A contract may come to an end by lapse of time (हदम्याद). This is when the period the law allows for enforcing it has run out. So a creditor who delays too long may lose the remedy to recover a debt. A contract may also end by operation of law. And it may be discharged by breach. This is when a serious failure by one party lets the other treat the contract as terminated and pursue its remedy. It is important to understand both how a contract is formed and how it ends. The rights and duties of the parties last only as long as the contract itself.
अपराधको सन्दर्भमा 'अपराधिक कार्य' भनेको के हो ? / What is 'Actus Reus' in the context of a crime?
In criminal law a crime is normally made up of two elements. These two work together. One is a guilty act. The other is a guilty mind. This is shown in the maxim actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea. The maxim means that an act does not make one guilty unless the mind is also guilty. The actus reus is the first of these two. It is the external or physical element.
Actus reus means the forbidden conduct that the law prohibits. It has three parts. The first part is the conduct itself. This can be doing a forbidden act, for example striking a person. It can also be failing to perform a legal duty, which is called an omission. The second part is the circumstances in which the act is done. The third part is the consequence or harm that results, such as injury or death.
The law punishes conduct and not mere thoughts. So there can be no crime without an actus reus. A person may only wish or plan a crime in his mind. That is not an offence until some forbidden act is done. The actus reus must also be voluntary. An example helps. Suppose a person deliberately strikes another with a rod and causes injury. The striking and the resulting hurt together make up the actus reus of the offence of hurt (कुटपिट). But suppose he only imagines striking his enemy and does nothing. Then there is no actus reus and no crime. A person is generally held criminally liable only when a guilty act (actus reus) is joined with a guilty mind (mens rea).
सामुदायिक सजायको अर्थ एक वाक्यमा लेख्नुहोस् । / Write the meaning of community punishment in a sentence.
Community punishment (सामुदायिक सजाय) is a non-custodial sentence. This means the offender is not locked up in prison. Instead of prison, or alongside it, the convicted offender does supervised unpaid work that benefits the public. The aim is to correct him and bring him back into society, not just to confine him.
'शारीरिक दण्ड भन्दा सामुदायिक दण्ड बढी सुधारात्मक हुन्छ ।' यस भनाइको मूल्याङ्कन गर्नुहोस् । / 'Community punishment is more reformative than physical punishment.' Evaluate.
Punishment can be justified in several ways. This statement asks us to weigh two forms of punishment against the reformative aim of modern criminal justice. To evaluate it, we must first be clear about the two forms. Physical punishment, in the sense used here, is punishment that acts on the body or freedom of the offender. Its main modern form is imprisonment (कैद). It serves three theories. It serves the retributive theory by giving the offender his just deserts. It serves the deterrent theory by frightening him and others. And it serves the preventive theory by locking him away so he cannot reoffend for a time. Community punishment (सामुदायिक सजाय) is a non-custodial sanction. Under it the offender does supervised unpaid work that benefits the public. He does this instead of a short prison term, or alongside one. It is used mostly for lighter offences.
Now judge the two forms by the reformative theory. That theory treats the offender as someone who can be corrected and returned to society. By this test, community punishment has clear advantages. It keeps the offender within society instead of isolating him. So his family relationships, his job and his social standing are not destroyed. These are exactly the ties that keep a person law-abiding. It also avoids the criminalising and hardening effect of prison. In prison a minor offender may learn worse habits from serious criminals. He may also gain a stigma that blocks him from honest work afterwards. Community punishment builds accountability through restitution. The offender's own labour repairs some of the harm done to the community. This teaches responsibility far better than sitting idle in confinement. At the level of the whole system, it helps too. It eases prison overcrowding. It is also cheaper for the state. It frees scarce prison space for dangerous offenders.
A concrete example brings this out. Suppose two offenders of the same age commit the same first, minor offence. One is sent to prison for several months. The other is placed on community service. The second one cleans and maintains a public school for a fixed number of hours under supervision. Look at what happens to each. The first may lose his job. He may fall in with experienced criminals. He may leave custody bitter and unemployable. The second keeps his family and work intact. He sees the direct benefit of his labour to the community he wronged. He is far more likely to resume an honest life. For the reformative purpose of punishment, the second outcome is plainly better.
Physical punishment is not without value. Some crimes are grave, such as homicide or dacoity. For these, imprisonment is necessary. It protects society. It satisfies the public sense of justice. And it deters. A dangerous, repeat offender cannot be left on community service. The first duty of the system is to keep the public safe. But as a tool of reform, a prison term often fails for minor offenders. Sometimes it does the opposite of reforming them. Nepal's own law reflects the reformative turn. The Constitution of Nepal 2015 has abolished the death penalty. It also forbids torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Muluki Penal Code 2074 and the Criminal Offences (Sentencing and Execution) Act 2074 provide community service and compensation as sentencing options. These sit alongside imprisonment and fine.
The fair conclusion is that the statement is largely correct. For minor and first-time offenders, community punishment is indeed more reformative than physical punishment. It corrects and reintegrates rather than merely confining and hardening. So the sound policy is simple. Match the punishment to the offender and the offence. Use community punishment where reform is realistic. Reserve imprisonment for serious crime, where protection of society must come first.
किरातकालमा कुनै व्यक्तिले कसैको हत्या गर्यो भने त्यस्तो अपराधीलाई कस्तो सजाय दिइन्थ्यो ? / During the Kirat regime, if a person murdered someone, what sentence used to be given to such an offender?
In the Kirat period justice was customary and community-based. The common teaching is that even a killing was usually not punished with death. Instead the offender faced banishment or exile from the community. Or the offender paid a fine or compensation (क्षतिपूर्ति) to the victim's side.
नेपालको फौजदारी न्याय प्रणालीको ऐतिहासिक विकासक्रममा मल्लकालीन न्याय व्यवस्थाको वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / Describe the Malla Dynasty in the historical development of the criminal justice system in Nepal.
The Malla period holds an important place in the history of Nepal's criminal justice. For the first time in a developed way, it put law and punishment on a systematic and written footing. It moved Nepal from unwritten custom towards a written, ordered system. Its main features are:
In short, the Mallas made real progress. They moved Nepal's criminal justice from unwritten custom towards a written, court-run order. But that order was still shaped by the caste structure of the day. This codifying tradition later influenced the national code of the Shah era, the Muluki Ain of 1910 BS.
लिखत सम्बन्धी कुनै दुई अपराध लेख्नुहोस् । / Write any two crimes relating to the offence against documents.
Here are two offences relating to documents under the Muluki Penal Code 2074. The first is forgery (कीर्ते). This means making a false document or a false entry in order to deceive. The second is the use of a forged document as genuine. This means passing off a false or tampered document as a true one. A further example is dishonestly changing a genuine document.
डकैती कस्तो प्रकारको अपराध हो ? डकैतीमा हुने कानुनी सजायको व्याख्या गर्नुहोस् । / What type of crime is dacoity? Interpret the provisions of the punishment for dacoity.
Dacoity (डकैती) is a serious offence against property under the Muluki Penal Code 2074. It is a form of robbery. Robbery means theft committed by using force, or by threatening force. It becomes dacoity when a group or band of persons carries it out together. Its nature can be explained in a few points.
A simple example shows why the law is strict. Suppose six persons break into a family home at night. Some of them are armed. They threaten the people inside. Then they carry away cash and gold ornaments. This is not an ordinary theft. It is a dacoity. This is because a band did the taking by using force and fear. The whole household was put in danger. Each member of the band is liable. This is true whether a member entered the house or kept watch outside. In short, dacoity is punished strictly. It combines greed, violence and group action. This makes it one of the most dangerous property offences. (Exact sentence lengths are set by the relevant sections of the Code. The comparative severity stated here is reliable. The precise numbers should be verified against the current text.)
मुलुकी अपराध संहिता, २०७४ मा उल्लेख भए बमोजिम कुटपिट सम्बन्धी अपराधको बारेमा विश्लेषण गर्नुहोस् । / Critically analyze the crime relating to hurt as stated in the Muluki Penal Code, 2074 (2017).
Hurt (कुटपिट) is one of the main offences against the person in the Muluki Penal Code 2074. It protects the most basic interest a person has. That interest is the safety and wholeness of the body. In simple words, hurt means causing bodily pain, injury or harm to another human being. A full analysis of the offence should look at four things. What the offence consists of. How the Code grades it. What makes it worse. And what defences may apply.
The essence of the offence is simple. It is a voluntary act that causes bodily harm to another person. The act must be done with the intention of causing hurt. Or it must be done with the knowledge that hurt is likely to follow. Accidental contact with no fault is not hurt. There must be a guilty act joined to a guilty mind. This reflects a general rule of criminal law. Criminal liability needs both a guilty act (actus reus) and a guilty mind (mens rea). Here is an example. Suppose two people collide by pure accident in a crowd. One of them is bruised. There is no offence. This is because there is no guilty intention or knowledge.
The most important feature of the Code is clear. It grades hurt by seriousness. It does not treat every injury the same. At the lower end is simple or ordinary hurt. This is bodily harm that is neither serious nor lasting. It carries a fairly light punishment. A slap that leaves a bruise is of this kind. So is a small cut that soon heals. At the higher end is grievous hurt (गम्भीर चोट). This covers injuries of a serious nature. Examples are the fracture of a bone, or the loss of an organ, or the permanent weakening of an organ. It also covers the loss of a sense such as sight or hearing. It covers permanent disfigurement of the face. And it covers any injury that puts the victim's life in danger. The harm here is lasting and may threaten life. So grievous hurt carries a much heavier sentence. Here is an example. A blow with a heavy stick that breaks the victim's arm is grievous hurt. A shove that causes only a bruise is simple hurt. The Code punishes the two very differently.
The Code also recognises aggravating circumstances. These increase the punishment. Causing hurt with a dangerous weapon is one. So is causing hurt by poison, or by fire or acid. These are treated more seriously than hurt caused by ordinary means. There are two reasons. The method is more dangerous. And it shows greater cruelty. An acid attack that disfigures the victim's face is a grave example of aggravated hurt. The punishment is also heavier when the victim is especially vulnerable. This includes children, pregnant women, the elderly and the helpless. The sentence also rises when hurt is caused in order to commit or hide another crime. In each case the law raises the sentence to match the greater wrong.
Against all this, the Code allows defences. The clearest is private defence. This means protecting your own body, or another person's body, from an unlawful attack. A person who causes hurt in reasonable and proportionate self-defence commits no offence. Here is an example. Suppose Y strikes an armed robber to fend off an attack. The force Y uses is reasonable. Y causes hurt, but Y commits no offence. Other things can also defeat liability. One is the absence of the required intention or knowledge. Another is a genuine accident.
Assessed as a whole, the law of hurt in the Muluki Penal Code 2074 is a good example of proportionate criminal justice. It separates trivial harm from serious harm. It punishes dangerous methods and cruelty to the weak more heavily. And it leaves room for honest self-defence. So the sentence tracks the true gravity of the injury done to the victim. (The comparative scheme stated here is reliable. Exact imprisonment terms and fine amounts are fixed by the relevant sections. They should be confirmed against the current text of the Code.)
'अपूर्ण अपराध / कसुर' को एक उदाहरण दिनुहोस् । / Give an example of an 'Inchoate offence'.
An attempt (उद्योग) to commit an offence is an example of an inchoate offence (अपूर्ण अपराध). For instance, a person fires a gun at another meaning to kill, but misses. He has attempted murder. Criminal conspiracy and abetment are other examples. These are offences that are begun but not completed. They are still punishable.
अपराधमा उद्योगसँग सम्बन्धित सिद्धान्तहरूको विवेचना गर्नुहोस् । / Analyze the principles relating to attempt to crime. अथवा (Or) साधारणतया अपराधको सोच राख्नुलाई सजाय दिइँदैन तर उद्योगलाई सजाय दिईन्छ । कानुनले किन अपराधको सोच राख्ने र उद्योग बीच यस्तो भिन्नता राख्दछ ? एउटा सरल उदाहरणसहित व्याख्या गर्नुहोस् । / "Thinking about a crime is usually not punished but an attempt is always punished." Why does the law make this difference? Explain with a simple example.
Criminal law looks at more than just completed crimes. It also looks at conduct that moves dangerously towards crime. The principles about attempt (उद्योग) sit at the centre of this. The best way to approach the topic is through the four stages of a crime. The first stage is intention (मनसाय). This is the forming of a guilty mind. The second stage is preparation (तयारी). Here the person arranges the means to carry out the plan. The third stage is attempt (उद्योग). This is a direct act done towards the offence once preparation is complete. The fourth stage is commission or accomplishment (सम्पादन). Here the offence is actually carried out and the intended harm results.
The general rule is that the law does not punish the first two stages. Mere intention is not punished. A guilty thought that stays in the mind harms no one. In any case, it cannot be proved. Mere preparation is usually not punished either. Preparatory acts are often innocent by themselves. For example, buying a knife may be for cooking, not killing. It is also hard to be sure a crime would have followed. So the law draws its line at attempt. Once a person does a direct act aimed at the offence, the danger is real. The criminal intent is now firm. So the Muluki Penal Code 2074 treats the attempt as an offence. It is punishable generally at a lower level than the completed crime. This is commonly up to half the prescribed punishment.
This explains why "thinking about a crime is usually not punished but an attempt is always punished". The difference rests on harm and proof. A thought is private. It is harmless. It cannot be proved. An attempt is different. It is a visible and dangerous act. It shows the offender is ready to cause the harm. It shows he has already begun to do so. The law steps in at this point for two reasons. It wants to prevent the completed offence. And it wants to protect society. A simple example makes this clear. Suppose a person only wishes an enemy dead. No crime is committed. Suppose that person then buys poison. There is preparation, but usually still no offence. But now suppose the person mixes the poison into the enemy's food and serves it, meaning to kill. He has attempted murder. He is punished. This is true even if the enemy notices the poison in time and survives. The firm intent turned into a dangerous act is what the law punishes. It does not matter whether the final harm actually follows.
The lower penalty for attempt also makes sense. The attempter has shown the same wicked intent as one who succeeds. He has already put the victim in danger. That is why the act is punished at all. But the final harm did not actually happen. So the law treats the attempt as somewhat less serious than the completed offence. In this way the law balances two concerns. It steps in early enough to stop crime and to deal with dangerous offenders. Yet it still grades the punishment by whether the harm was actually done.
'कानुनको अज्ञानता क्षम्य हुँदैन' भन्ने सिद्धान्तलाई एक उपयुक्त उदाहरणसहित प्रस्ट पार्नुहोस् । / Illustrate with a suitable example the principle of 'Ignorance of law is no excuse'.
The maxim ignorantia juris non excusat means ignorance of law is no excuse (कानुनको अज्ञानता क्षम्य हुँदैन). It lays down a clear rule. A person who breaks the law cannot defend himself by saying he did not know such a law existed. Two reasons justify this principle. First, laws are made in public and published. So every member of society is presumed to know the law. Second, suppose ignorance of law were accepted as a defence. Then every accused would simply plead it. Knowledge could never be proved. The whole legal system would become impossible to enforce.
This must be kept separate from a mistake of fact (तथ्यको भुल). A mistake of fact can be a valid defence. An honest and reasonable mistake about a fact may excuse a person. This is because his act would not have been wrong if the facts were really as he believed. Ignorance of the law, however, is not excused.
Here are some examples. A trader sells a restricted good. He cannot escape punishment by saying he did not know a law banned its sale. He is presumed to know the law. He is liable all the same. Take another case. A person carries a weapon without the required licence. He cannot plead that he did not know a licence was needed. Take a third case. A traveller brings in goods that the law prohibits. He cannot escape by claiming he had not read the rule. In each case the ignorance is of the law, not of a fact. So it gives no defence. The person is held liable. This rests on the idea that everyone is taken to know the law of the land.
कानुनको नजरमा 'अपराध पीडित' भन्नाले कसलाई बुझिन्छ ? / Who is considered a 'Crime Victim' in the eyes of the law?
A crime victim (अपराध पीडित) is the person who bears the harm caused by an offence. In the eyes of the law, this idea covers several things:
Here is an example. Suppose the only earner of a family is murdered. The law recognises the dead person as the victim. But it also recognises the widow and children. They lose their support because of the crime. So their claim to justice and compensation can be considered. This shows the main point. The crime victim is not merely a witness to the case. The victim is the very person the law seeks to protect, inform, and make whole through remedy and compensation.
पीडित केन्द्रित न्यायको अर्थ एक वाक्यमा लेख्नुहोस् । / Write the meaning of victim-oriented justice in a sentence.
Victim-oriented justice (पीडित केन्द्रित न्याय) is an approach to criminal justice. It keeps the victim at the centre of the process, not only the offender. Its meaning can be explained through these points:
Here is an example. Take a sexual-offence case handled the victim-oriented way. The survivor's identity is kept confidential. She is protected from threats. She is kept informed of the case. If the accused is convicted, she may receive compensation and rehabilitation support. She is not treated as a mere witness and then set aside. In Nepal, this approach rests on the Constitution of Nepal 2015. The Constitution guarantees the victim of a crime the right to justice. This includes the right to information about the case. It also includes the right to social rehabilitation and compensation according to law.