Chapter-1 Preliminary
- Short title and commencement: (1) This Act may be cited as the “Crime Victim Protection Act, 2075 (2018).”
(2) This Act shall commence immediately.
- Definitions: Unless the subject or the context otherwise requires, in this Act, –
(a) “Court” means a court that is authorized by the prevailing law to try and settle any offence, and this also includes such other judicial authority or body authorized by law to try and settle any specific type of case.
(b) “Offence” means an offender offence in which the government is plaintiff pursuant to law, and the victim has died or has to bear damage.
(c) “Offender” means a person who is convicted by the court of an offence.
(d) “Fund” means the Victim Relief Fund established pursuant to law.
(e) “Prescribed” or “as prescribed” means prescribed or as prescribed in the rules framed under this Act.
(f) “Victim of second grade” means a person who has not been involved in the offence that has been committed or is being committed against the victim of first grade but who has to bear damage because of being an eyewitness of such offence, and this expression also includes the guardian of the minor victim of first grade who has not been involved in the offence but who has to bear damage because of having information about, or being an eyewitness of, the offence, and any of the following persons who have to bear damage because of having knowledge as to the offence committed against the victim of first grade:
(1) Guardian of the victim of first grade,
(2) Where the victim of first grade is a minor, and
(3) Where the person who has to bear such damage is not involved in the offence.
(g) “Minor” means a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years.
(h) “Victim of first grade” means a person who has died or has sustained damage as a direct result of an offence that has been committed against the victim, irrespective of whether the perpetrator does not have to bear criminal liability on the ground of his or her age, mental unsoundness, diplomatic immunity or position or whether the identity of the perpetrator remains untraced or whether charge has not been made against the perpetrator or whether the case related to the offence has been withdrawn or whether the sentence imposed on the offender is pardoned or whether the perpetrator has not been convicted of the offence or irrespective of the family relation of the perpetrator with the victim, and this phrase also includes a person who has not been involved in the offence but has died or sustained damage in any of the following circumstances:
(1) While preventing the person who is committing the offence from committing it,
(2) While extending reasonable support and rescuing with the purpose of saving any person where an offence is being committed against such a person,
(3) While trying to arrest the person who is committing or has committed the offence or extending support to the competent authority in the course of arresting the suspect, accused or offender.
(i) “Family victim” means the victim’s mother, father, husband, wife living in the undivided family of the victim or other member of the undivided family dependent on the victim, who is not involved in the offence against the victim of first grade who has died as a direct result of the offence.
(j) “Victim” means an individual who is the victim of first grade, victim of second grade and family victim.
(k) “Victim Protection Suggestion Committee” means the Victim Protection Suggestion Committee referred to in Section 44.
(l) “Guardian” means the guardian of a victim who remains as such or is appointed pursuant to the prevailing law.
(m) “Damage” means the following damage caused to the victim as a direct result of the offence:
(1) Grievous hurt,
(2) Pregnancy occurred due to rape,
(3) Contracting any communicable disease recognized by medical sciences that causes adverse impact on the physical or mental health or life of the victim,
(4) Mental anxiety, emotional trauma or damage identified by the medical doctor,
(5) Destruction of physical, intellectual, sexual or reproductive capacity or serious damage caused to such capacity,
(6) Adverse impact caused on the social, cultural or family prestige of the victim due to rape,
(7) Psychological or psychiatric damage,
Explanation: For the purposes of this sub-clause, the term “psychological or psychiatric damage” means the effect detected by the medical test, which is not recovered or reduced in short period and which inflicts negative effect upon the health of the victim.
(8) Financial or physical damage,
(9) Making physical beauty of the victim ugly.
- Not to be deemed victim: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, where a person has sustained damage or died in the following circumstance, the person who has so sustained damage or died or his or her family member shall not be deemed to be a victim for the purposes of this Act:
(a) While doing any act in the course of saving the body, life, property or chastity of his or her own or anyone else under the private defense pursuant to the prevailing law,
(b) While doing any act by a security employee who has been deputed or deployed by the order of the competent authority in the course of performing his or her duties pursuant to the prevailing law,
(c) While doing any act by the investigating authority having authority to investigate pursuant to the prevailing law, in the course of making investigation, subject to his or her jurisdiction,
(d) Any act done in a situation where the criminal liability need be borne pursuant to the prevailing law,
Provided that even if the criminal liability of the perpetrator need not be borne as a result of the perpetrator’s age, mental unsoundness, diplomatic immunity or immunity enjoyable on the basis of position, it shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, that such a person has committed the offence, and the concerned person shall be deemed to be a victim due to the offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the Government of Nepal from providing relief to a person who has sustained damage or died due to the circumstance set forth in that sub-section.