Fake refugee verdict explained how “unified offence” sentencing works

Kathmandu, July 15

The District Court of Kathmandu has determined a sentence of four years’ imprisonment each for most of the guilty parties, including the person found to be the main planner, in the widely covered fake refugee case.

The bench of Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka handed down four-year prison sentences to 9 of the 16 people found guilty.

The court found them guilty on charges of forgery, fraud, organised crime, and offences against the state, determining separate imprisonment terms and fines for each offence. The final sentence was then set according to the legal provision on “unified offence.”

According to Dhanbahadur Karki, the verdict implementation officer at the District Court of Kathmandu, the sentence was determined under Section 43 of the National Criminal Code, 2074, which provides for “additional punishment for unified offences.”

Under this provision, when a person commits more than one offence in the same incident, it is treated as a “unified offence.” In such cases, the final imprisonment and fine are determined by taking the punishment for the offence carrying the highest sentence and adding half of the punishment for the offence carrying the second-highest sentence.

According to Shiva Khatiwada, information officer at the District Court of Kathmandu, even though separate prison terms and fines are set for different offences, ultimately only the imprisonment and fine determined under the unified offence provision will be enforced.

For example, former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi was given two years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 for fraud, three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 30,000 for organised crime, and one year six months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 15,000 for the offence against the state.

In determining the unified sentence, the organised crime charge, carrying the severest punishment of three years’ imprisonment and a Rs 30,000 fine, was used as the base. To this was added half of the second-highest sentence (the fraud charge): half of the two-year term, i.e., one year, and half of the Rs 20,000 fine, i.e., Rs 10,000.

This way, Raiyamajhi’s final sentence was determined to be four years’ imprisonment and a Rs 40,000 fine. According to information officer Khatiwada, only the unified sentence finalised by the last court to rule will be enforced.

How will it now be implemented?

A District Court verdict is not enforced immediately. Both the plaintiff and defendant sides have the right to appeal the verdict to the High Court. The imprisonment and fine will only be enforced after the final court ruling.

Once the full text of the verdict is made public, defendants currently in detention will be able to appeal to the High Court while remaining in custody. Former Deputy Prime Minister Rayamajhi, former Secretary Teknarayan Pandey, and those identified as the main planners, Sanu Bhandari and Keshav Dulal, will also have to remain in detention while appealing.

However, if their four-year prison term is completed while the appeal process is still ongoing, they will be released from detention. After that, they will be able to continue the case proceedings while staying outside. Since most defendants were arrested around April 2023, they are likely to be released from detention around April 2028.

Former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, who has already been released on bail, will not need to return to detention while appealing. Under the legal provision, he can pay a bail deposit at the rate of Rs 300 per day for the designated imprisonment term and appeal while staying outside detention. If the final court upholds the imprisonment, the time he has already spent in detention will be deducted, and he will only need to serve the remaining term.

A different arrangement applies to Dr Indrajit Rai, who was found guilty by the District Court. Although he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 40,000, since he has already crossed the age of 75, he will receive a 75 percent reduction in his prison sentence.

Accordingly, he will need to serve only about one year in prison. He will also not need to remain in detention while appealing. The same provision will apply to refugee leader Teknath Rizal.

Meanwhile, Bechan Jha, who was found guilty only of attempted fraud, has been sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000. Having already been released on bail due to his advanced age, he too will be able to appeal to the High Court while staying outside detention, on bail.