The Judicial Council will study the verdict of Achham District Court to jail a 19-year-old girl for lodging a false rape complaint.
District judge Navin Kumar Joshi on March 28 had sentenced the girl for three and a half years concluding that she lodged a false rape complaint against one Nandaram Khanal from Ramroshan in the district.
The council is collecting study materials as per clause 17 of the Judicial Council after news reports about the district court verdict, according to Judicial Council Spokesperson Man Bahadur Karki. "There is legal provision of the council taking suo moto cognizance of some controversial verdicts and judges and conducting study. The council is collecting files and verdict for study after reports that the law that the Achham District Court based its recent verdict of punishing the girl for false rape complaint is not active," Karki told Setopati. "The verdict has quoted a clause of an act. What was that quoted from? It seems like an ordinance. There will first be study about whether the ordinance is in force or has become null."
The council will take a decision on whether to iniatiate action against the judge on the basis of the conclusion of its preliminary study. The council can conduct further investigation on the judge if deemed necessary after study of the files.
Joshi based his verdict of punishing the girl for false rape complaint on clause 44 (2A1) of the Criminal (Code) Act 2017. The provision, however, is not in the Criminal (Code) Act 2017 and was only included in the ordinance brought to amend the Criminal (Code) Act 2017.
The ordinance has become null and void on February 4 as per the Article 114(2) of the Constitution that renders any ordinance ineffective if not passed by both the Houses within six months of its issuance.
The prevailing law only has a provision of a three-month sentence or a fine of Rs 5,000 or both for anyone lodging a false rape complaint.
The verdict by Judge Joshi based on a legal provision that is no longer active has been widely criticized.
Spokesperson at the Office of the Attorney General Sanjeev Raj Regmi told Setopati that no one can be sentenced using a law that is no longer in effect.
The girl had lodged a rape complaint on Janaury 29 claiming that Khanal, who had proposed to marry her, dragged her from the bed she was sleeping in and raped her.
Khanal claimed that the two had consensusal sex after his arrest. The girl also turned hostile and told the court in her statement that the two had consensual sex and she lodged the rape complaint only as she took the proposal of Khanal to defer the marriage due to a death in his family as his refusal to marry her.
Judge Joshi then gave clean chit to Khanal and sentenced the girl on the basis of the legal provision that is no longer active.
Spokesperson at the Office of the Attorney General Regmi said that the girl can now appeal with the High Court pointing that she has been punished based on a law that is not active. He stated that the public prosecutors can also take a decision about whether to appeal against the verdict or not once the full verdict arrives.
