1 The State as Victim: The Offence Family's Logic

Offences against the state — the political offences — protect the state's existence and functioning: its sovereignty and territorial integrity (treason), its legitimacy and public order (sedition), and its protected information (official secrets). The family's inherent tension (the unit's master theme): these offences police the boundary between security and liberty — the state's self-protection against the citizen's expression and association; every democratic constitution demands their narrow, rights-respecting construction (freedom of expression and association under Article 17; the proportionality discipline). The Muluki Criminal Code, 2074's state-offence chapter (by principle) plus the special statutes (the Public Security Act's preventive regime, the state-secrets provisions) compose Nepal's map.