Chapter-4 Compensation

29. Power to make order for interim compensation: (1) Where it is required to have treatment of the victim or provide compensation or any kind of relief amount immediately, the court may make an order for getting such a person medically treated or providing compensation or relief amount in an interim manner.

(2) Where the order referred to in sub-section (1) is made, the victim shall be provided with compensation or relief amount from the Fund.

(3) Where the accused person is convicted of the offence upon judgment by the court, the court shall order such an offender to pay the amount of compensation or relief amount provided pursuant to sub-section (2) to the Fund within thirty-five days of the date on which the judgment was made.

(4) Where so ordered by the court pursuant to sub-section (3), such an offender shall pay to the Fund the amount of compensation or relief, and where he or she does not pay such amount within that period, it shall be recovered from any assets belonging to such an offender as government arrears, within sixty days of the date on which the judgment was made.

30. To get compensation recovered from offender himself or herself: (1) The court may, while making final settlement of the case, make an order that a reasonable amount be paid, as compensation, by the offender to the victim.

(2) While making order for the payment of the compensation pursuant to sub-section (1), the court shall ascertain as to whether the victim has obtained the interim compensation or not pursuant to Section 29.

(3) Where the court makes an order pursuant to sub-section (1) that compensation be paid by the offender to the victim who has already obtained interim compensation pursuant to Section 29, only the amount that remains after returning the amount of interim compensation obtained by the victim to the Fund shall be provided to the victim.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Section, where it appears that the victim cannot get compensation because the offender has no property or where the offence is established but the offender cannot be held to be convicted or where the case related to the offence is withdrawn pursuant to the prevailing law, the court may make an order that appropriate amount be paid as compensation to the victim from the Fund.

(5) The amount of compensation shall be provided to the victim from the Fund within thirty-five days from the receipt of the order pursuant to sub-section (4).

31. Bases to be taken while determining the amount of compensation: While determining the amount of compensation to be provided to the victim, the court may take any or all of the following matters as the basis:

(a)        Reasonable expenses borne or to be borne by the victim for medical, psychological or psychiatric counseling,

(b)        Expenses of medical treatment borne or to be borne by the   victim,

(c)        Unexpected travel expenses borne by the victim,

Explanation: For the purpose of this clause, “unexpected travel expenses” means the reasonable expenses incurred in transport while traveling more than ten kilometers for receiving counselling or treatment service which the victim requires immediately to lessen the damage caused to the victim as a direct result of the offence because such service is not available within the distance of ten kilometers from the victim’s place of settlement or workplace or the scene of crime.

(d)       Expenses for legal practitioner borne by the victim,

(e)        Damage caused to the personal capacity of the victim as a direct result of the offence,

(f)        Financial loss borne or to be borne by the victim,

Provided that where the victim has obtained or is obtain compensation for such financial loss from the insurance pursuant to law, compensation shall not be provided pursuant to this clause.

(g)        Expenses incurred or to be incurred in repairing or maintaining the damaged personal goods or purchasing new ones,

(h)        The victim’s income generation capacity lost or damaged as a direct result of the offence,

(i)         Negative effect caused to the physical beauty of the victim,

(j)         Damage caused to physical, intellectual, sexual or reproductive capacity of the victim,

(k)        In the case of the offence of rape, negative effect caused from such offence to the social, cultural or family prestige or relationship of the victim,

(l)         Where the victim becomes pregnant due to rape, expenses incurable in abortion or giving birth to and nurturing the baby,

(m)       Medical treatment expenses in the case of abortion caused from the offence,

(n)        Reasonable expenses spent by the victim in good faith to become safe from additional offence that is likely to be committed against him or her, where the special condition is attracted,

Explanation: For the purposes of this Section “special condition” means the condition where the victim has sustained or has to sustain unnatural impact or effect as a direct result of the offence committed against the victim, by taking undue advantage of the physical or mental condition of, or the place of residence, workplace of, the victim or special location of the scene of crime at the time of the commission of the offence.

(o)        Mental or emotional damage borne by the victim,

(p)        Other appropriate grounds according to the nature and effect of the damage,

(q)        In the case of the victim whom special condition is applicable to, reasonable expenses incurred by the victim in good faith to save the victim of first grade from additional offence,

(r)        Guardian’s patronage lost by the minor children.

32. To consider group of offences as one offence: For the purpose of providing compensation pursuant to this Act, compensation shall be provided by considering a group of offences as one offence.

Explanation: For the purposes of this Section “group of offences” means two or more than two offences that are connected for the following reasons:

(1)        Having been committed by the same person or group of persons against the same person in the same incident, or having the same characteristics between these offences for any other reasons, and

(2)        Death of the victim or damage caused to the victim from the offence.

33. Compensation not available in more than one status: No person may receive the compensation referred to in this Act as the victim of first grade, victim of second grade and family victim or in more than one form or status in any other form.
34. Compensation not to be provided: Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, the following victims shall not be provided with compensation pursuant to this Act:

(a)        One who commits the offence in relation to which compensation is to be received, attempts to commit it, entices or conspires to commit, or assists in the commission of, or is an accomplice involved in, the offence,

(b)        One who makes claims for compensation referred to in this Act in the capacity of the victim of first grade where the offence has been committed against him or her when he or she was involved in any other offence or due to that reason,

(c)        A family victim of the person who has died when he or her was going to commit an offence against any one or due to that reason,

(d)       A person who is entitled to receive compensation pursuant to the prevailing law under the insurance provision of third party with respect to the damage caused due to a motor vehicle accident,

Provided that nothing herein contained shall bar the provision of compensation pursuant to this Act in cases where such a person was killed or injured by using a motor vehicle with the intention of killing or injuring.

(e)        A victim of second grade or family victim who has information that the victim of first grade has been involved in any other offence or has reasonable reason to receive such information,

Provided that this provision shall not be applicable to a person who is a witness at the time of the commission of the offence for which compensation is to be received.

(f)        A person who is victim of an offence and whose treatment has been made free on behalf of the government or whose treatment expenditure has been borne by the government and there is a possibility that the victim may get recovery,

Provided that nothing herein contained shall bar the provision of compensation in the case of a damage other than the expenses for medical counseling or medical treatment.

(g)        A victim prisoner who is in detention upon being sentenced to imprisonment pursuant to the prevailing law and has suffered mental injury due to the offence committed against him or her while in detention,

Provided that nothing herein contained shall bar the provision of compensation also for the mental injury caused from being imprisoned for the sole reason of not being able to pay the fine imposed on him or her pursuant to the prevailing law.

(h)        A person who has been convicted of the offence against the State under the prevailing law,

(i)         A person who has been convicted of any organized crime under the prevailing law,

(j)         Except for a victim who is a minor or of unsound mind, a person who has become victim of an offence committed against him or her due to provocation by him or her to commit the offence against him or her or due to the conduct of the victim,

(k)        A person who does not make information or complaint in relation to the investigation of, court proceedings on, the offence, who makes a false information or complaint, who does not assist the investigating or prosecuting authority or who makes a statement, deposition or submits evidence with the objective of saving the person involved in the offence, or who, for that purpose, makes such a statement or deposition in the court that is contrary to the statement made before the investigating authority,

(l)         A person who has received, or appears to receive, financial support or compensation from any other source of the Government of Nepal with respect to the offence for which he or she is entitled to obtain compensation,

(m)       A person who appears to be unjust for being provided with compensation from the perspective of justice,

(n)        A person who makes an application to the effect that he or she does not wish to obtain compensation,

(o)        A person who is yet to pay such fine, claimed amount or any other amount as ordered by the order of the court or such revenue or other amount payable by the victim to the Government of Nepal,

(p)        Where it is held that a false complaint has been made,

(q)        Such a victim in cases where the perpetrator is likely to receive the benefit of compensation because of the fact that both the victim and the perpetrator are both the members of an undivided family at the time of the commission of the offence,

Provided that nothing herein contained shall bar the provision of compensation to the victim pursuant to this clause in the following conditions:

(1)        Where the perpetrator is not bound to bear the criminal liability pursuant to the prevailing law because of his or her age or mental unsoundness,

(2)        Where there is no legal provision entitling the victim to compensation from the offender in such an offence, or even if it exists such a provision, it does not appear that the victim will be able to obtain compensation from the perpetrator because there is no property in the name of the perpetrator or the undivided family or for any other reason but it is proved that the victim has lived apart upon separating the bread and board from the undivided family consisting of the perpetrator after the offence has been committed, or

(3)        A woman who is a victim of rape or a child born from her.

35. Compensation amount to get first priority: Notwithstanding anything contained in the prevailing law, where the offender has also to pay compensation to the victim, in addition to the fine, government claimed amount, ten percent, twenty percent fee, public claimed amount or any other amount, by a judgment of the court, the first priority shall be given to the compensation to be received by the victim pursuant to this Act from the amount recovered from the offender.
36. To be recovered as government arrears: Where the offender does not provide the victim with the amount of compensation ordered by the court to be recoverable to the victim pursuant to this Act, the court shall get it provided to the victim by recovering it from the movable and immovable property of the offender as government arrears.
37. To receive compensation by dependent child or guardian: Where the victim dies before obtaining the compensation pursuant to this Act, his or her child dependent on him or her or guardian shall be entitled to such amount of compensation.
38. To deduct the amount received earlier for compensation: While making payment of the amount of compensation to the victim pursuant to this Act, only the amount that remains after deducting the amount received by him or her earlier for interim compensation shall be provided.
39. To pay the amount of compensation to the Fund: If the victim does not appear to receive the compensation until six months from the date on which information as to his or her entitlement to compensation was given pursuant to this Act, the amount of such compensation amount shall be paid to the Fund after that period.
40. No entitlement of any one else to the amount of compensation: Notwithstanding anything contained in the prevailing law, no one else shall have entitlement to the amount obtained as compensation pursuant to Section 29 or 30 of this Act except where such amount is to be returned, deducted or recovered pursuant to this Act.