Criminal Law-I is the paper where the syllabus itself tells you what will be asked — its seven units cover the general part of criminal law, and its prescribed case list tells you exactly which Supreme Court decisions the examiner can expect you to brief. Here is the unit-wise list of the most important questions for the B.A.LL.B. 3rd Semester (New Course) paper Criminal Law-I (LAW5204), in the order of the official 2025 syllabus.
Who is this for? B.A.LL.B. 3rd Semester (new 2025 course) students preparing for the LAW5204 board examination — and LL.B. students of Criminal Law (LAW401). Full marks 100 (40% internal + 60% board), pass marks 50%.
Unit-wise important questions
Unit 1: General Introduction to Criminal Law
- Define crime and criminal law. Distinguish crime from tort and from breach of contract. (15)
- Explain the classification of crimes with examples from the Muluki Criminal Code, 2074. (10)
- Explain the jurisdiction of criminal law: territorial, extra-territorial, personal and universal jurisdiction. (15)
- Define extradition. Explain its principles and the grounds on which extradition may be refused. (15)
- Write short notes on: (a) territorial jurisdiction; (b) universal jurisdiction. (2×5)
Unit 2: Historical Evolution of Criminal Law in Nepal
- Trace the evolution of criminal law in Nepal before codification — the Kirant, Licchavi, Malla and Shah periods. (15)
- Explain the codification of criminal law in Nepal with reference to the Muluki Ain, 1910 B.S., the Muluki Ain, 2020 B.S. and the Muluki Criminal Code, 2074. (15)
- Write short notes on: (a) the Muluki Ain, 2020; (b) the significance of the Muluki Criminal Code, 2074. (2×5)
Unit 3: General Principles of Criminal Law
- Explain the general principles of criminal law: ignorantia juris non excusat, nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege and the principle of strict construction. (15)
- Explain the principles of ex post facto law, double jeopardy and presumption of innocence with reference to Nepali law. (15)
- “No crime without law, no punishment without law.” Explain the principle with reference to Manish Shrestha v. Government of Nepal and Uttam Lama v. HMG Nepal. (15)
- Explain the principle actio personalis moritur cum persona (the crime dies with the criminal) with the case of HMG Nepal v. Mayashwori Damini. (10)
Unit 4: Elements of Crime
- Explain the constituent elements of a crime with reference to actus reus and mens rea. (15)
- Explain the forms of human conduct — act, omission and state of affairs — with examples. (15)
- Explain mens rea and its categories: intention, knowledge, recklessness and negligence. (15)
- Explain the doctrine of transferred malice with reference to Tek Bahadur Reule v. HMG Nepal. (15)
- Discuss Bhuvane Basnet Kshetri v. HMG Nepal on actus reus in murder. (10)
Unit 5: Stages of Crime and Inchoate Offence
- Explain the stages of crime: intention, preparation, attempt and commission. (15)
- Explain inchoate offences: criminal conspiracy, incitement/abetment and criminal attempt. (15)
- Distinguish between preparation and attempt with examples and case law, including Jasman Limbu v. Government of Nepal on conspiracy. (15)
Unit 6: Parties to the Crime
- Explain the meaning and classification of parties to a crime: principal offender, secondary offender and innocent agent. (15)
- Explain accessories before the fact, during the fact and after the fact with examples. (15)
- Discuss corporate criminal liability under Nepali law. (10)
Unit 7: General Defenses
- Explain the concept, rationale and classification of general defenses under the Muluki Criminal Code, 2074. (15)
- Explain excusable defenses: infancy, insanity, mistake and intoxication — with Tirtha Dangol v. HMG Nepal (insanity) and Government of Nepal v. Kesh Bahadur Budhathoki (mistake of fact). (15)
- Explain justifiable defenses: private defense of person, property and chastity, with Government of Nepal v. Sanjeev Kumar Singh Yadav on the plea of self-defence in murder. (15)
- Explain necessity, duress and superior order as defenses, with HMG v. Balmanjari on homicide. (15)
- Write short notes on: (a) the M’Naghten test and its Nepali equivalent; (b) the limits of self-defence. (2×5)
Prescribed Cases
The syllabus prescribes thirteen decisions. Expect direct questions such as “discuss the facts, holding and principle”, and expect to cite them inside ordinary answers too.
- Bhuvane Basnet Kshetri v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2031), No. 3, p. 87 — murder and actus reus.
- HMG Nepal v. Mayashwori Damini, NKP (2037), No. 11, p. 261 — the crime that dies with the criminal.
- HMG Nepal v. Rameshwar Raut Barai & Others, NKP (2041), No. 4, p. 360 — jurisdiction in criminal law.
- Tirtha Dangol v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2042), No. 5, p. 435 — insanity.
- Idris Miya v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2044), No. 2, p. 259 — personal jurisdiction.
- Uttam Lama v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2061), No. 9, p. 1092 — retrospective effect of law.
- Tek Bahadur Reule v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2061), No. 11, p. 1486 — transferred malice.
- Jasman Limbu v. Government of Nepal, NKP (2069), No. 1, p. 84 — conspiracy.
- Government of Nepal v. Sanjeev Kumar Singh Yadav & Others, NKP (2064), No. 10, p. 1312 — plea of self-defence in murder.
- Manish Shrestha v. Government of Nepal, NKP (2070), No. 8, p. 1050 — nullum crimen sine lege.
- Government of Nepal v. Kesh Bahadur Budhathoki, NLR (2062), DN 7491 — mistake of fact.
- HMG v. Balmanjari, NKP (2040), p. 279 — general defense.
How to answer Criminal Law-I questions well
- Two-part every answer: for doctrine questions, define, state the ingredients, then apply; for case questions, always give facts, issue, holding and principle — in that order.
- Quote the section: the Muluki Criminal Code, 2074 is your statutory anchor — its provisions on general defenses, abetment, attempt and conspiracy should be cited by number wherever possible.
- Latin earns marks, but only with meaning: use actus reus, mens rea and the maxims correctly and immediately explain them in English or Nepali terms.
- Brief the prescribed cases in one paragraph each: a page of case briefs, written in your own words, is the highest-yield revision material in this paper.
Free resources
Start with the free Unit 1: Criminal Law-I Unit 1 (free). Unit 1 of every subject is free to read on this site.