The government has decided to empower the district courts to take initial action and dispose of cases in cybercrime cases.
The meeting of the Council of Ministers held at Singhdarbar on June 20, 2023, has decided to place Cybercrime under the jurisdiction of all 77 District Courts. Previously, The Kathmandu District Court exclusively handled the cases under Electronic Transactions Act, 2006.
The Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs had submitted a proposal to the Council of Ministers regarding expanding the jurisdiction of district courts to take preliminary action and deal with the offenses under paragraph 9 of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2006, under sub-section 5 of Section 60 of the same Act. The meeting of the Council of Ministers on June 20, 2023, passed the proposal of the Ministry.
Announcing the decision of the Council of Ministers, Honorable Rekha Sharma, Minister of Information and Communication and Government Spokesperson, said that the decision passed by the Council of Ministers will be implemented by the district court as soon as possible.
Responding to the decision of the Council of Ministers, Advocate Pushparaj Paudel said, with this decision of the government establishes a viable means of access to justice for every citizen and also ensures an efficient means for investigation.
Likewise, the Chairperson of CIWIN Nepal, Madhav Pradhan, said that with the government’s decision, children who are victims of online violence will get justice quickly. Pradhan mentioned that district court judge should be trained on the dimensions of cybercrime through training in the Electronic Transactions Act.