House approves bill on loan shark victims

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, July 3: The House of Representatives (HoR) on Sunday approved the ordinance to replace the bill related to the loan shark victims allowing the lawmakers to register their amendment proposals within 72 hours. 

The second meeting of the Lower House held today approved the bill for the amendment. The approval has paved the way for a detailed deliberations for the endorsement in the Federal Parliament. The ordinance was tabled with a message for the amendment after theoretical discussion. 

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dhan Raj Gurung also responded to the questions raised by the MPs during the theoretical discussion on Sunday.

He said that the loan shark victims would get justice after the endorsement of the bill. "If anyone found guilty in such crime will be booked for the actions as according to the arrangements," he said. Minister Gurung clarified that the bill had proposed mandatory registration of the documents at the local level. "If unfair transactions are established, both imprisonment and fine have been proposed to the offenders," he added.

Loan shark victims have become happy after the ordinance entered the House after developing a consensus among the political parties. The ordinance was introduced at the beginning of the current session. The National Assembly had already passed it and submitted it to the HoR for further procedures.

The government has proposed a provision of a jail sentence of seven years for the offenders of loan sharking. "If convicted, the offender will be imprisoned for up to seven years and be fined up to Rs. 70,000," read the document.

The bill had defined an improper transaction as an attempt of a loan shark offence. "Preparation of documents for non-transactional and non-disbursed amounts, preparation of documents for more than the actual amount, including interest amount during the transaction is considered an unfair transaction," read the document. 

Taking more interest than the loan from the debtor, not paying back the amount taken, transfer of the immovable property rights of the debtor in unfair transactions are also defined as unfair actions. Transfer of immovable property will be cancelled if the offence is found. 

An inquiry commission formed under the chairmanship of Former Justice Gauri Bahadur Karki is working on it with the authority to receive complaints from the loan shark victims, conduct necessary investigations and make recommendations to the government for the cases. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives also passed two dependent bills of the annual Appropriation Bill for the fiscal year 2023/24. Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Saran Mahat tabled the two budget-dependent bills-- the Economic Bill and the National Debt Collection Bill in the House on Sunday. A majority of the House approved it.