This document discusses various laws related to property offenses in Nepal. It begins by introducing the concept of theft and its elements under common law. It then discusses various theories of property law such as bundle theory, exclusion theories, use theories, and others. The document also discusses rational choice theory, routine activity theory, elements of a suitable target, absence of guardianship, and presence of likely offenders. It provides details on specific property offenses under Nepalese law such as theft, burglary, robbery, dacoity, and related punishments. The document also covers offenses relating to documents, cheating, criminal breach of trust, extortion, and pickpocketing.

1. Adv. Vijay Jayshwal
Kathmandu University School of Law
Offenses relating to Property

2. Introduction
 The common law has always tried to protect the
property of citizens by proscribing the dishonest
removal of movable property.
 The mens rea of this offense is the dishonest
intention to remove the property from the
possession of a person.
 Its actus reus is constituted by the physical
removal with the required intention at the time of
taking.
 Life, liberty and property is considered as one of
ancient protection granted by state.
 Property related offenses are increasing day by
day specific in terms of intellectual property.

3. Applicable Theories on Property Law
 Bundle Theory
 The General Idea of Private Property: The
Integrated Theory
 Exclusion: Trespass-Based Theories
 Use: Harm-Based Theories
 Power-Based Theories: The Question of
Alienation
 Immunity-Based Theories
 Remedy-Based Theories
 Cross-Cutting Theories
 Eminent domain theory- The power of the
government to take private property and convert it

4.  John Locke proposes his theory of
property rights in The Second Treatise of
Government (1690). The theory is rooted in laws
of nature that Locke identifies, which permit
individuals to appropriate, and exercise control
rights over, things in the world, like land and other
material resources.
 The Lockean proviso is a feature of John
Locke's labour theory of property which states
that whilst individuals have a right to homestead
private property from nature by working on it,
they can do so only "at least where there is
enough, and as good, left in common for others."

5. Rational Choice Theory
 Rational choice is defined to mean the process of
determining what options are available and then
choosing the most preferred one according to
some consistent criterion.
 In a certain sense, this rational choice model is
already an optimization-based approach.
 The problem of rational choice can be
represented as one of maximizing a real-valued
utility function.
 The rational choice perspective in essence
argues that would‐be offenders consider the
potential costs and benefits before deciding
whether to engage in crime.

6. Routine Activity Theory (RAT)
 This theory tries to clarify why crime occurs under
some specific circumstances rather than
understanding criminal characteristics as temporal
displacement.
 Since its inception, the theory has become closely
aligned with a set of theories and perspectives known
as environmental criminology, which focuses on
the importance of opportunity in determining the
distribution of crime across time and space.
 The routine activity approach was presented by
criminologists Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson in
1979.
 Cohen and Felson believed that crime occurs in the
presence of three elements which are a suitable
target, lack of a suitable guardian, and a likely

7.  Routine activity theory suggests that if all three
elements- a suitable target, lack of a suitable
guardian, and a likely motivated offender- are
available somewhere, then the chances for crime
increase and conversely, if one of these elements
is absent then chances for crime decrease.

8. A Suitable Target
 Anything can be a target such as a person, an
object or a place which can be attractive and
fruitful for criminals. An object may be very
attractive when it is visible and its value is high
and easy to reach. In other words, a suitable
target is something which provides instant profit
to offenders.
 This might be a woman walking home alone at
night, an overpass just begging to be tagged by a
gang, or a purse or wallet left on a chair in a
restaurant as its owner leaves to use the
bathroom.

9. Absence of the proficient
Guardian
 Guardianship is defined as the physical or symbolic
presence of an individual (or group of individuals) that
acts (either intentionally or unintentionally) to deter a
potential criminal event.
 Guardianship can be defined at individual and
environmental levels and can be drawed on recent
multicontextual criminal opportunity theory for specific
definitions at each level.
 At the individual level, guardianship is defined as
“possessing qualities that relate to social ties and
interpersonal control,” with interpersonal control
referring to “the degree to which individuals and
objects in a bounded locale can be observed and
impeded from experiencing criminal acts because

10. Possible offender
 When an appropriate target is undefended by a
proficient guardian there is a chance that a crime
will take place.
 Consequently, the final component in this picture
is that a likely offender has to be present for
commission of crime.
 Cohen and Felson (1979) argued that changes in
social structures and economies of the modern
world allow an increase in possible opportunities
for motivated offenders to commit crimes of
different forms.
 According to routine activity theory, crime can
only be committed if a likely offender thinks that a

11. CRIME CONCENTRATION
THEORY
 Crime has a tendency to concentrate in time,
space, and other dimensions along which it
occurs.
 Repeat victimization is crime against the same
target however defined.
 That can be the same person or place (a
household, business or facility), a vehicle, or
other target.
 Crime follows crime such that a small proportion
of targets and places experience a vastly
disproportionate amount. One study found that
1% of people experience 59% of personal crime
including violence, and that 2% of households
experience 41% of property crime (Pease, 1998).

12. Theft
 The old has divided the offenses of theft into five categories:-
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13. Four elements
 The property must belong to another person. It
means that one can legally take property
belonging to none ( concept of res nullius. (Res
nullius is a Latin term derived from private Roman law
whereby res (an object in the legal sense, anything that can be
owned, even a slave, but not a subject in law such as a citizen
nor land) is not yet the object of rights of any specific subject.
 The property must be movable. Immovable
property cannot be subject to theft but one can
steal windows by dismantling from the house,
wood by cutting the tree or soil by interfering into
another land.
 The property must have taken without consent or
knowledge of the owner.
 The property must have taken with dishonest

14. Chapter-20
Offences Relating to Theft and Robbery
241. Prohibition of theft :- if a person who
dishonestly takes any property under the
ownership, possession, control or custody of
another person out of such ownership,
possession, control or custody or moves such
property without that other person's consent, with
the intention of owning, using or enjoying it, shall
be considered to commit theft.
Explanation: For the purposes of this Section,-
(a) The term "consent" means the consent given in
writing or orally or expressed by conduct.
(b) Consent by a child who has not attained
eighteen years of age or a person of unsound
mind shall not be considered to be consent.

15. 242. Punishment for theft
(1) A person who commits, or causes to be committed, theft
in any of the following circumstances shall be liable to a
sentence of imprisonment from a term of two to seven
years and a fine of twenty thousand to seventy thousand
rupees:
(a) In the case of theft of any government or public property
or property of any religious place or temple,
(b) In the case of theft of any property, upon administering
liquor or narcotics to, or otherwise making unconscious,
any person,
(c) In the case of theft of any property, upon taking
advantage of earthquake, fire, flood, riot or similar other
situation of crisis or any accident,
(d) In the case of theft of any property of the office or person
whose service one is engaged in,
(e) In the case of theft on a vehicle used for the conveyance
of human persons or goods.
(2) A person who commits, or causes to be committed, theft
in any circumstance other than that referred to in sub-
section (1) shall be liable to a sentence of imprisonment for

16. 243. Prohibition of burglary (Nakabajani)
(1) No person shall commit, or cause to be
committed, burglary.
(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), a person
shall be considered to commit burglary if he or
she commits theft in a house by entering into the
house by breaking its main gate or by using any
passage, place, method or means other than the
main gate, or after committing theft, he or she
quits, or attempts to quit, by breaking its main
gate or by using any passage, place, method or
means other than the main gate.
(3) A person who commits the offence referred to in
subsection (1) shall be liable to a sentence of
imprisonment for a term of three to five years and

17. 244. Prohibition of robbery
(a) causes or attempts to cause to any person death or
hurt or restraint or obstruction or fear or intimidation of
grievous death or of grievous hurt, in order to the
committing of theft or in committing the theft or in
carrying away property obtained by the theft or to the
escaping of arrest after the commission of the theft or
commits theft carrying a deadly weapon,
(b) obtains any money or economic benefit through
criminal extortion by putting any person in fear of
instant death or of instant or of instant restraint,
(c) commits theft by waiting near or on way, road, lonely
place or forest or show of fear or intimidation , using
or threatening to use a deadly weapon,
(d) commits theft in a group of three or more

18. 246. Prohibition of pickpocketing
 A person who steals cash or property from the
pocket of another person who is walking on foot,
traveling on a vehicle or staying in a public place
or from his or her accompanying purse, bag or
means of any other kind, with or without notice of
such other person, shall be considered to commit
pickpocketing.
 Provided that where a person pick-pockets a
cash amount of more than ten thousand rupees
or property valued at more than ten thousand
rupees, the person shall be considered to commit
the offence referred to in Section 241.

19. 248. Statute of limitation :No complaint shall lie
after the expiry of three months from the date of
commission of the offence in the case of any of
the offences under Sections 245 (245. Prohibition
of movement carrying tools to be used in
commission of theft) and 246 (prohibition of pick
pocketing) and after six months from the date of
knowledge of commission of the offence in the
case of any of the other offences under this
Chapter.
Nature of Case :- State party criminal case

20. Chapter-21
Offences Relating to Cheating, Criminal Breach of Trust
and Extortion
249. Prohibition of cheating :-
a person who dishonestly causes any kind of loss,
damage or injury to another person whom he or she
makes believe in some matter or to any other person
or obtains any benefit for him or her or any one else
by omitting to do as per such belief or by inducement,
fraudulent, dishonest or otherwise deceptive act or
preventing such other person from doing any act shall
be considered to commit cheating.
253. Prohibition of extortion :-
(1), a person who puts any person in fear or terror of
any injury to that person or to any other person and
dishonestly takes any benefit from that person for
himself or herself or any other person or induces that
person to do, or prevents that person from doing, any
act with the intention of taking such benefit shall be
considered to commit extortion.

21. 254. Compensation: Where any injury or damage
is caused to any person from the commission of
the offence referred to in this Chapter, the
claimed amount, if set out, and a reasonable
compensation, if the claimed amount is not set
out, shall be ordered to be paid by the offender to
the victim.
255. Statute of limitation: No complaint shall lie
after the expiry of one year from the date of
knowledge of commission of any offence under
this Chapter.

22. Chapter-25
Offences Relating to Documents
276. Prohibition of forgery :-A person who makes
a false document or false electronic record or a
part or portion of a document or electronic record,
with intent to cause any harm, injury or damage
to the public or to any person or to render any
benefit to the person himself or herself or to any
person shall be considered to commit forgery.

23. 285. Prohibition of committing criminal
mischief:(1) No person shall commit, or cause to
be committed, criminal mischief. (2) For the
purposes of sub-section (1), a person who does
any of the following acts shall be considered to
commit criminal mischief:
(a) Destroying, or doing such act as to diminish the
value, importance or utility of, any government,
public or private property, with the intention of
causing any harm, loss or damage to the
Government of Nepal, State Government or Local
Level, any body corporate under full or majority
ownership or control of the Government of Nepal,
State Government or Local Level or public or any
person, or knowing or having a reasonable
reason to believe that such damage is likely to be
caused, or causing such damage by a negligent
or reckless act,

24. (b) Causing loss, damage or wrongful injury to, or
doing any act that causes injury to, or knowingly
causing any kind of obstruction, loss, damage or
wrongful injury to the utility of, any public or
private sewerage, water canal, drinking water
pond, road, bridge or any means of
communications or transportation and the like,
(c) Destroying, removing, erasing or tampering any
mark or sign fixed for public convenience, except
for any act done in pursuance of an order of the
competent authority, by spreading rumors or
using any means of deception,
(e) Concealing, or dishonestly causing delay in the
delivery of, any correspondence, notice, parcel or

25. Thank you