Fake refugee verdict explained how “unified offence” sentencing works

The District Court in Kathmandu has handed down four-year prison sentences to nine individuals found guilty in the widely publicized fake refugee case. The court determined the sentences for the main planner and most of the other guilty parties involved in the scheme.

Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka presided over the bench that convicted the nine individuals on charges including forgery, fraud, organized crime, and offenses against the state. The court determined separate imprisonment terms and fines for each offense before applying the legal provision for "unified offense" sentencing.

Dhanbahadur Karki, the verdict implementation officer at the District Court, explained that the sentence was determined under Section 43 of the National Criminal Code, 2074. This provision allows for "additional punishment for unified offences." When a person commits multiple offenses in the same incident, it is treated as a single, unified offense. The final sentence is calculated by taking the highest penalty for one offense and adding half of the penalty for the second-highest offense.

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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.

Shiva Khatiwada, an information officer at the District Court, clarified that even though individual sentences and fines are set for different charges, only the final sentence determined under the unified offense provision will be enforced. For instance, former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi received a base sentence of three years for organized crime, with half of the two-year sentence for fraud added, resulting in a final sentence of four years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 40,000.

The court's verdict is not immediately enforced. Both the prosecution and defense have the right to appeal the ruling to the High Court. Imprisonment and fines will only be enforced after the final court decision. Defendants currently in detention, including former Deputy Prime Minister Rayamajhi and former Secretary Teknarayan Pandey, will remain in custody while pursuing their appeals.

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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.