NEB Class 12 · Past paper
The complete NEB Class 12 old-course exam paper for Civil and Criminal Law and Justice, all 16 questions with solved model answers.
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Q. देवानी कानूनको प्रकृति र क्षेत्र उल्लेख गर्नुहोस् । / Mention the nature and scope of civil law.
Civil law is a branch of private law. It governs the rights and duties of people in their dealings with one another. It also gives remedies when those rights are broken. Criminal law treats a wrong as an offence against society. Civil law is different. It treats a wrong as a private matter between the parties. It seeks to restore the loss, not to punish. The best way to give a full account is to look at its nature and its scope.
(a) Nature of civil law. Civil law is private, corrective and compensatory. It is private because it governs relations between individuals (one person against another). It does not govern relations between the individual and the state. It is corrective and compensatory because of its object when a right is broken. Its object is to put the injured party back in the position they would have been in if the wrong had not happened. It does this through remedies such as compensation, restitution, specific performance, partition or a declaration of right. For example, suppose a seller takes payment for a plot of land but then refuses to register the transfer. Civil law does not imprison the seller. Instead it compels the seller to complete the transfer. Or it orders the return of the money with compensation. The case is started by the person who was harmed (the plaintiff, वादी). It is brought against the wrongdoer (the defendant, प्रतिवादी). The burden of proof lies on the plaintiff. The dispute is decided on the balance of probability. This is a lighter standard than the criminal "beyond reasonable doubt".
(b) Scope of civil law. The scope of civil law is broad. It reaches into most of ordinary life. Property law governs ownership, partition (अंशबण्डा), succession and inheritance (अपुताली), gift (दान, बकस) and the registration of deeds. It decides who owns what and how ownership passes on. Family law governs marriage, divorce (पारपाचुके) and adoption. It controls the most personal relationships. The law of contract and obligations governs how agreements are formed, performed and enforced. It also governs what happens when they are broken. This is the backbone of business and everyday dealings. The law of compensation for private wrongs (torts) gives relief for harm caused to a person or their property outside a contract. For example, one family quarrel over inherited land may raise several civil matters at once. It may raise a partition claim, a succession question and a dispute over a registered deed. All of these fall within civil law.
In Nepal, most of this field is now written in the Muluki Civil Code 2074 (2017). This code brought property, family, contract and obligation law into one modern code. It rests on principles such as good faith (सद्भाव), protection of acquired rights, a remedy for every wrong, and limitation (हदम्याद). In short, civil law is private in nature and corrective in purpose. Its scope covers property, family, contract and the compensation of private wrongs. This makes it the body of law that orders the everyday legal relations of ordinary people.
Q. स्त्रीधनको अर्थ, परिभाषा र प्रकार उल्लेख गर्दै यसको उत्तराधिकारी सम्बन्धी कानूनी व्यवस्थाबारे वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / Mention the meaning, definition and type of women's property, and describe about its succession.
Women's property means property that a woman holds in her own right. It is different from property held jointly by the family's male members. Nepali law on this subject has changed a lot. The change is from a narrow separate category to full equality. That change is the heart of a good answer.
Under the old law, a woman's own property was a separate category. It was commonly called स्त्रीधन. There were related terms like पेवा and दाइजो. The woman held this property specially. Her rights over it were treated apart from the main family property. The rules for who inherited it were also separate. The old picture was simple. A woman's economic position rested on a separate fund. This fund was often smaller than a full share of the family estate. In practice, a daughter might depend on a modest personal fund. Meanwhile, most of the ancestral land passed through the male line.
The Muluki Civil Code 2074 (2017) has mostly dissolved this separate category and replaced it with equality. A woman is now a coparcener in her own right. She is entitled to an equal share in family and ancestral property, on the same footing as male members. A daughter inherits equally with a son. A wife shares in the family property. And any property a woman earns by her own effort is her self-acquired property. She has full freedom to use it and give it away. For example, a daughter who is a coparcener can ask for partition. She takes a share equal to her brother's. A woman who buys a shop with her own earnings may sell or gift it freely. This reform follows the Constitution. The Constitution guarantees equal property rights for women. It also bans discrimination based on sex.
Now consider the succession of a woman's property. It now follows the normal rules of अपुताली. When she dies, her property goes to her nearest heirs. This follows the order of relationship fixed by the Code. Sons and daughters take equally. The property goes to more distant relatives only where the near ones do not exist. If there is no heir within the recognised degrees, the property escheats to the Government of Nepal. In short, women's property has moved a long way. It has gone from a narrow, separate category to full and equal participation in family property and in the general law of succession.
Q. अंशवण्डा गर्ने कार्यविधिको बारेमा संक्षेपमा वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / Explain about the procedure of partition.
Under the Muluki Civil Code 2074, the procedure for partition (अंशबण्डा) goes through these steps:
Sometimes the coparceners cannot agree. Then a coparcener may go to court. The court orders division using the same rules.
Q. नेपाल सरकारमा अपुतालीको हक कायम हुने अवस्थाका बारेमा वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / Explain the condition to establish the right of inheritance to Nepal Government.
Under the Muluki Civil Code 2074, succession (अपुताली) first gives property to the deceased's nearest relatives. This follows the order fixed by the Code. The right of inheritance of the Government of Nepal comes last. It arises only in specific conditions:
So the Government's right of inheritance is a fallback only. It makes sure every piece of property has a lawful owner. At the same time, it keeps the family's claim first.
Q. लिखतहरु रजिष्ट्रेशन गर्दा हुने फाइदा र महत्त्वको बारेमा प्रकाश पार्नुहोस् । / Highlight the advantage and importance of registration of deeds.
Registration of deeds means the official recording of a transfer document. The document may be a sale, gift or partition deed. It is recorded with the right office. Its advantages and importance are:
For these reasons, registered deeds give security and confidence to property dealings.
Q. प्रचलित कानूनमा रहेको विवाहका लागि आवश्यक शर्तहरुको बारेमा व्याख्या गर्नुहोस् । / Describe the necessary conditions for marriage according to prevailing law.
The prevailing law on marriage is the Muluki Civil Code 2074. It lays down the conditions a marriage must meet to be valid. A union carries full legal effect only when each condition is met.
(a) Marriageable age. Both the man and the woman must have completed 20 years of age. A marriage below that age is unlawful and punishable. For example, a wedding arranged for a 16 year old girl is not a valid marriage. It also exposes those responsible to penalty for child marriage.
(b) Free consent. Both parties must agree freely. Consent is not valid if it is obtained by force, undue influence, fraud or misrepresentation. For example, a bride may be deceived about the identity of the groom. Such consent does not make a valid marriage.
(c) Monogamy. Neither party may already have a living spouse. A second marriage during the first one is void. It is also a punishable offence of bigamy.
(d) Prohibited degrees. The parties must not be related by blood or marriage within the degrees the Code forbids. So close relatives cannot marry.
(e) Sound mind. Both must be able to understand the nature of the relationship they are entering. A person of unsound mind cannot give true consent. So such a person cannot validly marry.
Only when all these conditions are met does the law treat the marriage as fully valid. The marriage should then be registered with the local authority as proof. Then the spouses can easily protect the rights that follow from it.
Q. नेपालको प्रचलित कानूनमा धर्मपुत्र-धर्मपुत्री राख्ने सम्बन्धमा रहेको व्यवस्थाको व्याख्या गर्नुहोस् । / Describe the provisions for adoption in prevailing Nepalese law.
The prevailing law on adoption in Nepal is the Muluki Civil Code 2074 (2017). It lets a person keep another's child as a धर्मपुत्र / धर्मपुत्री. In law, the child then becomes his or her own. The main provisions can be set out as follows.
(a) Who may adopt. The adopter should normally have no son or daughter of their own. The reason is that adoption is meant to give a childless family a child. A single person or a married couple may adopt. They must follow the conditions of the Code.
(b) Conditions of age and difference. The adopter must have reached the mature age fixed by law. The adopter must also be older than the adopted person by a reasonable gap. This gap makes a genuine parent-child relationship possible.
(c) Consent. The child's biological parents or guardian must give consent. If the child is old enough to understand, the child must consent too. This way, adoption is not forced on anyone.
(d) Limits. The Code limits how many children a person may take, and of which sex. So a person may not take both a son and a daughter if that breaks these limits.
(e) Process and registration. The adoption must be done through the proper legal process. It must be registered. A mere private arrangement is not enough. Registration gives the adoption legal effect. It also lets the adoption be proved.
For example, a childless couple complete the legal process to adopt a relative's orphaned child. They register it. This creates a valid adoption. But another couple simply raise a child informally, without that process. They have not created a valid adoption. Once the conditions are met, the adopted child is treated as a natural child. The child then gets rights of maintenance, family name, and partition and inheritance in the adopting family.
Short notes (re-tiered to [1 mark])
A son or daughter (धर्मपुत्र / धर्मपुत्री) is validly adopted under the Muluki Civil Code 2074. In law, this child has the status of a natural child of the adopter. The child is entitled to the adopter's family name and to maintenance. The child also has a right to a share in partition (अंशबण्डा) and inheritance (अपुताली) of the adopter's property. At the same time, the inheritance tie with the birth family is generally cut.
Q. अपराधका तत्वहरुको वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / Explain the elements of crime.
A crime is not just any wrong. It is a wrong that the law defines as punishable. For an act to amount to a crime, certain essential elements must come together. If any one of them is missing, the act usually cannot be treated as a complete crime.
The first element is a person with legal capacity. There must be a human actor. The law must recognise this actor as able to commit an offence. It must also recognise him as able to be held responsible for it. Some people wholly lack this capacity. For example, a very young child is treated differently.
The second element is the actus reus, the guilty or forbidden act. This is the external, physical side of the crime. It covers the wrongful conduct itself. That conduct may be a positive act, which means doing what the law forbids. It may also be an omission, which means failing to perform a legal duty. The actus reus also includes the attending circumstances and the harmful consequence that flows from the act. The law punishes conduct and not bare thoughts. So there is no crime without some actus reus.
The third element is the mens rea, the guilty mind. This is the mental or internal side of the crime. It is the blameworthy state of mind with which the act is done. It may be intention. It may be knowledge. It may be recklessness, which means consciously running an unjustified risk. It may be negligence (हेलचेक्र्याईं), which means a want of the care a reasonable person would take. The rule depends on the offence. The more serious the offence, the higher the degree of mens rea the law generally demands.
The fourth element is injury or harm. This is the actual or threatened damage to a legally protected interest. Such an interest can be life, the body, property, reputation or public order.
The heart of the matter is simple. The guilty act and the guilty mind must usually exist together. The maxim actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea makes this clear. An act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty. A concrete example shows how the elements work. Suppose A intends to kill B. A shoots and kills him. There is a capable person (A). There is a guilty act (the shooting). There is a guilty mind (the intent to kill). There is harm (B's death). So the crime of homicide is complete. Now change the facts. Suppose A is driving carefully and within the law. A person suddenly runs into the road. A cannot avoid him and knocks him down. The harm is there, but the guilty mind is absent. So A is not guilty of an intentional crime. Questions of negligence would still be examined. A limited class of strict-liability offences is different. For them the act alone is enough. But as a general rule, all these elements are needed before a person can be convicted of a crime. Above all, the union of actus reus and mens rea is needed.
Q. फौजदारी न्यायका सिद्धान्तहरु उल्लेख गर्नुहोस् । / Mention the principles of criminal justice.
Criminal justice rests on a set of settled principles. These principles aim to punish the guilty. At the same time they protect the innocent and the rights of the accused. The chief principles are:
Here is an example. Suppose a person is arrested on suspicion of theft. He is presumed innocent. He must be told the charge against him. He may engage a lawyer to defend himself. He can be convicted only if the prosecution proves his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Suppose some act was not a crime when he did it. Then he cannot be punished for it under a later law.
Q. दण्डका प्रकारहरु उल्लेख गर्नुहोस् । / Mention the types of punishment.
Nepalese criminal law is now codified in the Muluki Penal Code 2074 and the Criminal Offences (Sentencing and Execution) Act 2074. Codified means written together in one organised law. It provides a graded set of punishments. So the court can fit the punishment to the gravity of the offence and to the offender's circumstances. The main kinds are these:
One more point should be noted. The death penalty has been abolished by the Constitution of Nepal 2015. Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are also forbidden by the Constitution. So punishment in Nepal is limited to the lawful forms above. And it must respect the dignity of the offender.
Q. नेपालको फौजदारी कानूनको संक्षिप्त इतिहास व्याख्या गर्नुहोस् । / Describe the brief history of criminal law of Nepal.
Criminal law in Nepal has developed over a very long time. It moved from unwritten custom towards a modern written system. Its history is usually studied through the dynasties that ruled the country one after another. Tracing it period by period shows a steady growth in organisation. In the end it shows a decisive shift towards equality before the law.
The earliest stage is the Kirat period. The Kirats are the oldest dynasty that Nepal's history traditionally counts. They left no written penal code. Their justice rested on custom and community practice. Their wider moral tradition is linked to an oral inheritance called the Mundhum. An oral inheritance means teachings passed on by speech, not by writing. The Kirat state was simple and based on kin. So wrongdoing was handled within the community. Punishment leaned towards fines, compensation and restitution, or exile. Death was not usual. The standard example is a killing. It was commonly answered by banishing the offender or by a payment to the victim's family. So the early system is remembered as fairly mild.
The Licchavi period brought an organised state. The Licchavis left stone inscriptions (abhilekh). These are writings carved on stone that still survive. They reveal a settled royal government. In it the king was the source of justice, helped by officials. Offences and punishments were now recognised by the state. The influence of religion and the Dharmashastra is clear. It joined law closely to morality. It also grounded the ruler's duty to punish wrong and protect his subjects. A dispute that might once have been settled within the village could now be brought before royal officials. So the state took on responsibility for justice.
The Malla period put law on a systematic, written footing. Jayasthiti Malla is credited with reorganising society and law. He did this along Hindu Dharmashastra lines. The era is linked to the Manava Nyaya Shastra (मानव न्याय शास्त्र). People regard it as an early written statement of law and procedure. Disputes were heard through courts and officials. But punishment stayed caste-graded. It depended on the status of the parties, not on equality before the law. So the same act could draw a different penalty. It depended on the caste of those involved.
The Shah period carried royal justice across the unified kingdom. Its landmark is the Muluki Ain of 1910 BS (1854 AD). It was issued under Jung Bahadur Rana. This was Nepal's first full written national code. It applied a single body of civil and criminal law across the country. This was a major advance towards uniform justice. But it still graded offences and punishments by caste and status.
The modern period is one of steady reform. Caste-based discrimination in the law was abolished. The usual turning point is the 2020 BS / 1963 AD revision of the Muluki Ain. The judiciary became independent. A separate prosecution service developed. Today the system rests on the Constitution of Nepal 2015. It guarantees rights such as the right against torture and a fair trial. It also rests on the Muluki Civil Code 2074 and the Muluki Penal Code 2074 (2017), in force from 2018. These replaced the old Muluki Ain with a modern, equality-based system. It has written offences. It follows the principle of legality. It has a clear court hierarchy headed by the Supreme Court. It also has reformative punishments such as community service. The contrast between the two ends of the story makes the progress plain. Once, the punishment for an act could depend on the caste of the parties. Today the Penal Code defines the offence and its punishment in the same terms for everyone. So Nepal's criminal law has travelled from community custom to a modern code founded on equality before the law.
Q. अपहरणका सम्बन्धमा नेपालको कानूनी व्यवस्थाका बारे उल्लेख गर्नुहोस् । / Explain the Nepalese legal provision regarding kidnapping.
Kidnapping and hostage-taking (अपहरण तथा शरीर बन्धक) are offences against the person and against personal liberty under the Muluki Penal Code 2074. The law can be explained in these points.
Here is an example. Suppose a group seizes a businessman. They hold him captive. At the same time they demand a ransom from his family. This is kidnapping for ransom. It is treated far more seriously than a brief unlawful detention. This is because the purpose is to extort money. The victim's liberty and safety are both in danger. In short, Nepalese law treats kidnapping as a serious crime against liberty. The more harmful its purpose, the more severe the punishment. (Exact sentence lengths should be verified against the relevant sections of the current Code.)
Q. निजी रक्षा भन्नाले के बुझ्नुहुन्छ ? वर्णन गर्नुहोस् । / What do you mean by private defense? Explain.
Private defence (निजी रक्षा) is a general defence in criminal law. It allows a person to protect himself and others from an unlawful attack. Under the Muluki Penal Code 2074, a person may use reasonable and necessary force. He may use it to defend his own body or another person's body. He may also use it to protect his own or another's property (सम्पत्तिको रक्षा). The attack he defends against must be about to happen or already happening, and it must be unlawful. When force is used within these limits, the harm caused is not an offence. The law does not expect a person to stand by helplessly while being attacked. This is especially so where the help of the state is not available right away.
The right has clear limits. The force used must be proportionate to the threat faced. It must be used only against the attack. It must be used only while the danger lasts. It cannot be used for revenge after the threat has passed. It also may not cause more harm than is reasonably needed. Take an example. A robber attacks a person with a stick. The person may lawfully strike back to fend off the blows and escape. But suppose the robber then flees, and the person chases and kills him. That is revenge, not defence. The defence fails. Take another case. A person exceeds the limits by killing an attacker who posed only a minor threat. Then liability follows. So private defence balances two things. It respects a person's natural right to protect life and property. And it respects the state's interest in preventing excessive private violence.
Q. अपराधका चरणहरु उल्लेख गर्नुहोस् । / Mention the stages of crime.
Criminal law sees that a crime develops through four stages. It then decides at which stage punishment becomes proper:
The movement through the stages can be seen in one example. A person decides to kill his enemy. That is intention. He buys poison. That is preparation. He mixes it into the enemy's food and serves it. That is attempt. The enemy eats it and dies. That is commission. So the law steps in from the stage of attempt onwards. It punishes the offender once a firm criminal intent has been turned into a dangerous act.
Short notes (re-tiered to [1 mark])
An ex-post facto law (भूत प्रभावी कानून) is a law applied backwards in time. It is used against acts done before it came into force. In criminal law such backward use is prohibited. A person may be punished only under the law that was in force when he did the act. The Constitution of Nepal 2015 guarantees this protection as a fundamental right.