Acid Attack Law in Nepal (2026): Punishment and Victim Rights Guide

Acid attacks are among the most devastating forms of personal violence — they inflict lifelong physical disfigurement, severe psychological trauma, and an enduring social stigma that survivors carry through every dimension of their lives. In Nepal, although the number of reported cases is smaller than in some neighbouring countries, the pattern is consistent: most victims are women and girls, the attacker is typically known to the victim (often a rejected suitor, an estranged spouse, or a family member in a dispute), and the motive is to assert power and to permanently mark the victim's body. The legal response to acid violence has evolved significantly over the past decade, culminating in the 2076 amendment to the Penal Code 2074 and the dedicated Acid and Other Hazardous Chemicals (Regulation) Act 2076 (2019).

This 2026 (2083 BS) practitioner's guide walks through the acid attack law in Nepal as it now stands: Section 192(ka) of the Muluki Penal Code 2074, which prescribes 5 to 8 years' imprisonment plus NPR 100,000 to NPR 500,000 fine for face disfigurement and 3 to 5 years plus NPR 50,000 to NPR 300,000 fine for other body disfigurement; the rule that the full amount of the fine must be paid to the victim as compensation; the Acid Regulation Act 2076 restrictions on the sale, purchase, transport and storage of acid; the FIR and investigation procedure; the medical-evidence chain; and the rehabilitation framework that supports survivors through medical, psychological, vocational and legal stages of recovery.

Acid violence sits at the intersection of criminal law, women's rights, public-health regulation and constitutional guarantees of dignity. Our criminal-law and women's-rights teams handle acid cases on both sides — victim representation through FIR drafting, investigation monitoring, trial attendance, compensation enforcement and civil tort recovery, and accused-side defence where the allegation is contested. The pages that follow set out the framework practitioners use to navigate the file.

Alpine Law Associates — Nepal Bar Council-registered criminal-law team handling acid-attack victim representation, FIR drafting, medical-evidence coordination, compensation enforcement, civil tort suits and accused-side defence across the Bagmati region.

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What does the law treat as an acid attack in Nepal?

Section 192(ka) of the Penal Code 2074 — inserted by the 2076 amendment — defines the offence as causing harm by the use of acid or any similar harmful substance to injure, disfigure or cause pain to another person. The Code uses "acid or similar harmful substance" broadly — it captures hydrochloric, sulphuric and nitric acids commonly used in the trade, but also corrosive alkalis, bleaching agents, and any chemical capable of producing chemical-burn injuries. The mental-state requirement is intention or knowledge — the accused either intended to cause the harm or knew that the act was likely to cause it.

The offence is structured into two punishment tiers based on the part of the body affected. Where the act causes disfigurement of the face — the most common pattern and the one carrying the most severe lifelong consequences for the victim's identity, employment and social life — the punishment is 5 to 8 years' imprisonment plus a fine of NPR 100,000 to NPR 500,000. Where the act causes disfigurement of other body parts or causes bodily pain without disfigurement, the punishment is 3 to 5 years' imprisonment plus a fine of NPR 50,000 to NPR 300,000. The fine, in both tiers, must be paid in full to the victim as compensation.

The fine-as-compensation rule — unique to acid offences

Section 192(ka) carries a unique compensation feature: the entire amount of the fine ordered by the court must be paid to the victim as compensation. In standard hurt and homicide cases, the fine goes to the State and any compensation to the victim is a separate order (with separate enforcement); here the legislature consolidated the two so that the fine itself is the immediate financial relief to the survivor. The court fixes the fine within the statutory range (NPR 50,000 to NPR 500,000 depending on the body part affected), and the District Court ensures the fine is collected and disbursed to the victim before any other deduction.

The fine-as-compensation rule does not preclude additional relief. The victim may still bring a civil tort claim for damages — covering medical expenses, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, future reconstructive surgery, and psychological treatment. The Victim Compensation Fund under the Victim Protection Act 2075 may provide additional relief where the convicted person is insolvent. Counsel running a victim-side acid file structures the recovery across the criminal fine, the civil tort award, and the State compensation fund to maximise the actual money in the survivor's hands.

Acid and Other Hazardous Chemicals (Regulation) Act 2076

The Acid and Other Hazardous Chemicals (Regulation) Act 2076 (2019) regulates the sale, purchase, transport, storage and use of acid and other hazardous chemicals. Key features include: (1) a licensing requirement for sellers — only persons with a valid license may sell acid commercially; (2) buyer identification — sellers must verify the identity of the buyer and record it in a stock register; (3) purpose declaration — the buyer must state the intended purpose of the acid; (4) quantity limits — bulk sales above prescribed thresholds require additional authorisation; (5) child protection — sale to persons below 18 is prohibited; and (6) recording requirement — the stock register must be maintained for inspection by the District Administration Office.

Violations of the Acid Regulation Act 2076 carry independent penalties — fines for unlicensed sale, fines and imprisonment for sale to prohibited buyers, and license revocation for repeat offenders. The regulatory framework is intended to make it harder for would-be attackers to obtain the chemical anonymously. Where an acid attack is prosecuted, the source of the acid is investigated and the seller (if traceable) may face parallel charges under the Acid Regulation Act for regulatory failures that enabled the attack.

FIR registration and investigation

The FIR for an acid attack is registered at the District Police Office of the place of occurrence. The victim, the victim's family, or any witness may file. In acid cases — where the victim is often hospitalised and unable to attend the police station — the District Police Office should attend at the hospital to record the statement. The FIR particulars are critical: the identity of the accused (where known), the time and place of the incident, the substance used (where it can be identified at the scene), the witnesses, and any prior threats or pattern of conduct by the accused. Counsel often assists in drafting the FIR so that key facts are preserved.

The investigation is led by the District Police Office in coordination with the District Government Attorney. The Acid Regulation Act 2076 provisions add an investigative dimension — the source of the acid is traced through licensed-seller records, CCTV footage at points of sale, and any digital trail (online purchase, phone calls, courier records). Where the seller failed to maintain proper records, the investigation seeks to establish the regulatory failure as a contributing factor. The Criminal Procedure Code 2074 permits police custody of up to 25 days for serious cases including acid attack.

Medical evidence — the chemical-burn chain

Medical evidence is the foundation of an acid-attack prosecution. The victim is examined at a Government hospital, typically at the burns unit of a tertiary-care facility (Bir Hospital, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, or provincial teaching hospitals). The medical examiner records the location and depth of the burns, the percentage of body surface area affected, the chemical identification (where possible from residue), the photographic record of the injuries, the immediate treatment given, and the projected long-term consequences including reconstructive surgery requirements and any permanent disability.

The Medico-Legal report grades the injury for the charge tier — face disfigurement triggers the higher tier under Section 192(ka), other body disfigurement triggers the lower tier. Defence counsel attacking the medical evidence scrutinise the chain of custody for residue samples, the timing of the examination relative to the alleged incident, consistency between the burn pattern and the alleged mechanism, and the qualifications of the examining doctor. The medical examiner's testimony at trial — including cross-examination on the burn pattern and the projected medical course — is often where the case turns.

Bail in acid-attack cases

Bail in acid-attack cases is exceptional. The District Court applies a strong presumption against bail because the offence carries up to 8 years' imprisonment, the victim is typically vulnerable to further harm, the evidence (particularly hospital records and burn photographs) is preserved in the prosecution's control, and there is a high risk of witness intimidation given the personal nature of most acid-attack cases. Bail may be granted in narrow circumstances — where the prosecution case appears weak on the available material, where the accused is elderly or seriously ill, where prolonged trial delay prejudices the accused, or where the accused is a juvenile (in which case the Juvenile Bench rules apply).

Defence counsel arguing for bail must address each of the standard concerns — risk of flight, risk of tampering with evidence, risk of intimidating the victim or witnesses, and the strength of the prosecution case. Bail conditions typically include surrender of passport, periodic reporting to the police station, and a prohibition on contact with the victim or named witnesses. Where bail is granted, the District Court closely supervises the conditions and any breach triggers immediate cancellation.

Victim protection under the Victim Protection Act 2075

The Victim Protection Act 2075 (2018) provides a parallel protective framework that operates alongside the Penal Code prosecution. Key features include: (1) immediate access to medical care at Government cost; (2) psychological counselling; (3) legal aid through the Office of the Attorney General and accredited NGO partners; (4) compensation from the Victim Compensation Fund where the convicted person is unable to pay or where conviction has not yet occurred but the immediate need is established; (5) witness protection in cases where the accused or associates pose a threat; and (6) confidentiality protections including in-camera proceedings where appropriate. Our practitioner guide on the Victim Protection Act 2075 walks through the application procedure.

Rehabilitation — the four-pillar framework

Acid survivors face a long road to recovery that the criminal trial alone cannot deliver. The rehabilitation framework in Nepal — coordinated by the District Women, Children and Senior Citizen Welfare Office in conjunction with Government hospitals and accredited NGO partners — operates on four pillars. Medical rehabilitation covers initial burns treatment, dressing changes, infection control, and multiple stages of reconstructive surgery (skin grafts, scar revision, functional restoration). Psychological rehabilitation provides counselling for trauma, depression and post-traumatic stress, often extending over years.

Vocational rehabilitation helps survivors regain economic independence — training in skills compatible with any disabilities resulting from the attack, micro-finance support for self-employment, and employer-engagement programmes that reduce the stigma survivors face in the labour market. Legal rehabilitation is the ongoing relationship with counsel — enforcing the criminal compensation order, pursuing the civil tort claim, processing the Victim Compensation Fund application, and intervening in any subsequent harassment or threats from the accused or associates after release.

Civil tort claim — damages beyond the criminal fine

The criminal fine under Section 192(ka) — even at the upper end of NPR 500,000 — rarely covers the full economic loss to an acid survivor. Reconstructive surgery costs alone can exceed the fine over the survivor's lifetime; lost earning capacity over a working life multiplies the gap further. The victim's remedy is a civil tort claim brought in the District Court alongside or after the criminal proceeding. The civil court awards compensatory damages on a full-loss basis — medical expenses incurred and projected, lost earnings, pain and suffering, loss of marriage prospects (recognised in Nepali tort jurisprudence in personal-injury contexts), and exemplary damages where the conduct was particularly egregious.

The criminal finding of guilt has evidentiary value in the civil suit — once the criminal court has held the accused responsible, the civil court accepts that finding subject to the lower civil burden of proof. Counsel running a coordinated criminal-civil acid file leverages the criminal conviction to streamline the civil recovery. Our law of hurt guide explains the broader civil-criminal coordination framework.

Gender dimensions and the women's-rights overlay

Acid attacks in Nepal — like in much of South Asia — are predominantly committed by men against women, often in the context of romantic rejection, marital dispute, or family disagreement. The Constitution of Nepal 2072 (2015) guarantees substantive equality, freedom from violence, and dignity to all persons, with specific protections for women under Articles 38 and 42. The criminal-law response under Section 192(ka), the regulatory response under the Acid Regulation Act 2076, the victim-protection response under the Victim Protection Act 2075, and the broader women's-rights framework under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) — to which Nepal is a party — together form a multi-layered response to acid violence as a gender-based offence.

Counsel handling acid cases on the victim side increasingly bring constitutional and CEDAW-based arguments alongside the standard criminal-law claims, particularly where the prosecution is slow or the District Government Attorney's investigation is incomplete. Writ petitions under Article 133 of the Constitution have been used to compel timely investigation and to challenge inadequate sentencing in High Court appeals.

How can Alpine Law Associates help in an acid-attack case?

Alpine Law Associates handles acid-attack cases on both sides with particular focus on victim representation. For survivors, we provide immediate response — assistance with FIR registration at the hospital bedside, coordination with burns units for proper Medico-Legal documentation, application for Victim Compensation Fund relief under the Victim Protection Act 2075, monitoring of the District Government Attorney's investigation and charge-sheet, attendance at trial as watching counsel, enforcement of the fine-as-compensation order, and a civil tort suit on the same facts for damages beyond the criminal fine. We also coordinate referrals to medical reconstructive teams and NGO partners for psychological and vocational rehabilitation.

For accused persons where the allegation is contested, we run the defence at trial including challenges to the medical-evidence chain, the identification of the accused, the chemical identification, and any provocation or self-defence arguments where the facts support them. We also represent licensed sellers facing parallel charges under the Acid Regulation Act 2076 for regulatory failures. Our team coordinates the acid file with related hurt, homicide, domestic-violence and criminal-liability dimensions through a single counsel relationship. As a full-service law firm in Nepal, we field criminal, civil and constitutional expertise on every acid case.

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Last reviewed: April 2026