KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 4
A new amendment to the Senior Citizens Act-2006 stipulates a provision of handing down jail sentence for a term ranging from one year to five years or a fine between Rs 100,000 and 500,000, or both, if a senior citizen ends up begging for not being taken care of by his/her legal heirs, be it son or daughter or inheritor.
Section 8 of the amendment published in the Nepal Gazette last week states that no person shall compel a senior citizen to resort to begging. Similarly, no person shall turn a senior citizen into a hermit (Sanyasi), monk or fakir against his or her will. "If any senior citizen is forced to beg for living by his/ her children or inheritor, it shall be considered an offence and the offender(s) shall be liable to jail sentence for a term ranging from one year to five years or a fine anywhere between Rs 100,000 and 500,000 (1), or both," the amended law says.
Similarly, the amended provisions prohibit children or inheritors to detach or boycott the senior citizen from the family and deny him/ her food as per the capacity of the family, It will be the duty of each family member to maintain and care for senior citizen according to the economic status.
Similarly, the amendment does not permit anyone to harass and misbehave with a senior citizen and to register his/ her moveable or immovable property in one's name by misleading or coercing him/her for the same.
If any of these offences is committed, the offender(s) shall be liable to jail sentence for a term up to three months or a fine not exceeding Rs 30,000. In case the moveable or immovable property of the senior citizen is taken over by the offender, such property will also be returned to the victim.
"If the offender happens to be a person holding a public post, he or she will be liable to additional 30 per cent jail sentence or fine," the amendment reads. Similarly, an offence against a senior citizen living with disability or a senior citizen above 75 years of age, makes the offender liable to additional 30 per cent of the jail sentence or fine," the amendment reads.
The senior citizen concerned or anyone having knowledge about his/her plight may file a complaint at the nearest police post.
The Government of Nepali will be the plaintiff for cases filed under the Senior Citizens Act. The amendment also stipulates a provision for establishment of a Senior Citizens Service Centre for elders, who do not have anyone to take care of them.
Similarly, it allows each local level to form a Local Senior Citizens Committee for providing care, maintenance, and social security to needy senior citizens.
A citizen of Nepal having completed the age of 60 years is called a senior citizen.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 5, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
