Bill proposes legal validity only to certified deeds

Published On: December 17, 2016 01:40 AM NPT By: Ashok Dahal  | @ashokpillar


-No division for land of 2.5 anna area or less
-Officers attesting document must state name, designation 

KATHMANDU, Dec 17: A parliamentary panel working on a bill to replace the Civil Procedure Code has proposed a new provision under which any land transaction or other document (tamasuk) should be certified by an official at the local level to become legally valid. 

A sub-committee of the Bills Committee of Parliament, which is entrusted with the task of reviewing the Civil Procedure Code, has proposed to strictly legalize all written documents to be prepared at the local level while carrying out various types of local transactions between individuals. 

Earlier, any document including tamasuk or any other written paper signed by two parties used to be accepted as legally valid for purposes of litigation if either party accused the other of breaching the agreement.

Coordinator of the sub-committee Rewati Raman Bhandari informed that such a provision is being proposed with a view to avoid the possibility of “people being forced to sign such written agreements”. He said that several cases are registered at various courts every year accusing one side of forcing the other to sign such documents under unfavorable circumstances. 

Likewise, the revised bill has also proposed to bar anyone from dividing a plot of land that is 2.5 anna [70 square meters] or less between two or more individuals.

If  a piece of land is 2.5 anna or less, one of the rightful owners can buy out the other or else the government will auction it and distribute the proceeds to the rightful owners.

Another provision proposed in the bill makes it mandatory for a court to provide the full text of a verdict within 15 days after the case is decided.

Similarly, another provision included in the bill proposes that if a party to a case does not  take receipt of  the court  ruling within 90 days of the verdict, the court administration will presume that the ruling has been duly received.

The committee has also proposed revisions in court fees for different cases. If the claimed amount is below Rs 25,000 the court fee will be 500 and if the amount is over 5 million the court fee should not exceed one percent. However, according to Bhandari, a court fee of 1.5 percent is proposed if the claimed amount is between Rs 600,000 to 5 million.

In a separate provision, the sub-committee has proposed that physical infrastructure built on encroached land should not be demolished if the encroaching party is ready to pay the valuated cost of the encroached land. 

Also, it is proposed that any government officer or the chief of any government office must clearly state his/her name and designation while attesting a document.


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