Unless the subject or the context otherwise requires, in
this Code,-
(a) 'court' means the Supreme Court, High Court or District
Court, and this term also includes any other court, judicial
body or authority empowered by law to proceed, hear and
adjudicate any specific type of criminal cases;
(b) 'investigating authority' means an authority designated under
this Act or competent authority under law to make
investigation into any offence, and this term also includes an
investigation team formed to investigate into any specific
offence;
(c) 'Penal Code' means the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017;
(d) 'complaint' means a plaint to be filed in a court, and this term
also includes a charge-sheet in relation to any offence under
Schedule-1 or Schedule-2, and a report thereon in relation to
any other case;
(e) 'offence' means an act punishable by the Penal Code or other
Act;
(f) 'law' means a law for the time being in force;
(g) 'grave offence' means any offence punishable by a sentence
of imprisonment for a term of more than three and less than
ten years;
(h) 'heinous offence' means any offence punishable by a sentence
of imprisonment for life or for a term of more than ten years,
(i) 'place' means a house, shed, cow shed, elephant shed or tent,
and this term also includes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft,
and other place or means of similar nature;
3
(j) 'judge' means the authority of a court to proceed, hear and
adjudicate a case, and this term also includes an authority
competent to proceed, hear and adjudicate a criminal case;
(k) 'police office' means a police office authorized to investigate
into any offence set forth in Schedule-1;
(l) 'criminal case' means a case related to an offence under
Schedule-1, Schedule-2, Schedule-3 or Schedule-4, and this
term also includes any other case, except a case on any of the
following matters:
(1) A case related to a legal right, status, post, family
relationship or property,
(2) Establishment of relationship, or divorce,
(3) Fee, remuneration, salary, allowance or wage,
(4) Partition, succession, donation, gift, will,
guardianship, curatorship, parental authority,
adoption,
(5) Any right or claim under any contract, quasicontract
or unlawful enrichment,
(6) Any right or claim relating to tort, quasi-tort or
defective product,
(7) Servitude,
(8) Compensation, or
(9) Any other right or liability of civil nature.
(m) 'case' means a criminal case;
4
(n) 'adjudicating authority' means an authority empowered by
law to proceed, hear and adjudicate a case, and this term also
includes, in the case of a person taken in custody, a court
nearby the place where the person is taken in custody;
(o) 'Local Level' means a Village Body (Gownpalika) or
Municipality;
(p) 'government attorney' means the Attorney General, Deputy
Attorney General, Joint Attorney, Deputy Attorney, District
Attorney or Assistant District Attorney, and this term also
includes an officer designated by the Attorney General to act
in the capacity of government attorney.