KATHMANDU, June 12: Nepal Law Commission has drawn a preliminary conclusion suggesting that the statute of limitation should be extended only in the rape cases involving minors. Following the demand to make changes to the statute of limitations specified by Section 229 of the National Penal Code Act regarding coercive control, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs gave the commission the responsibility to study the issue and report whether it would be appropriate to extend or reduce the time limit.
The demand to extend the statute of limitations surged after an eight-year-old incident of rape of a 16-year-old girl, that has recently come to light, was barred from being lodged as a case due to the time limit. Protests were staged demanding the removal of the statute of limitations on cases of coercive control.
The commission finds it appropriate to extend the time limit for girls below the age of 18 and is preparing to recommend the same to the government. The commission has also said that it is conducting a preliminary study and discussing with the ministry the examples of countries that have removed the statute of limitations.
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The commission has stated that it has already sent an email to the ministry informally and will send a formal report after conducting further studies. In the preliminary study, the commission has suggested extending the time limit for lodging complaints in rape cases involving minors. The commission has stated that it will provide further recommendations after studying the legal arrangements in regards to the issue around the world along with various cases in Nepal as well.
The bill aimed to amend the National Penal Code has already been discussed in parliament. If parliament wants, it can extend the time limit. The government has registered a few bills in parliament that are addressed to amending some laws against sexual violence. The bill consists of arrangements for fining and sentencing imprisonment to perpetrators of coercive control.
Similarly, it has been mentioned in the bill that no compromise should be made and demands reasonable compensation from the culprit. After a case of coercive control, individual(s) that try to threaten the victim and the victim’s family, force/lure them to not file a complaint or not appear in the court, or attempt to facilitate a reconciliation between the victim and the perpetrator will also be fined and sentenced to imprisonment.
While the statute of limitations has been mentioned, a bill regarding its amendment has not been presented in parliament. Nepal Law Commission has not yet come to a definite decision on how much to extend the time limit or whether to extend it. The commission says that it has been studying countries such as Canada and the United States where the statute of limitations has been removed. It mentions that it will provide a report to the ministry after inspecting countries like India as well.
After an incident of sexual violence in a beauty pageant — which had occurred eight years ago — became public through social media, the call for removing the statue or raising the time limit has intensified. Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Govinda Prasad Sharma Koirala states that the law should be amended on time. He says that the statute would be amended in parliament as per the conclusions drawn by the commission's study.
The National Code of Nepal, enacted in the year 1963, had a legal provision to file a case of rape within 35 days of occurrence. Agitations erupted after many victims were not able to file a case due to the time limit. Then in 2015, the statute of limitations for cases of coercive control was extended to six months. The time limit was further extended to one year in the National Penal Code Act enforced on August 17, 2018.
