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Public Security Act, 2046 (1989)
Date of Authe ntica tion a nd P ublica tion
2046-6-11 (27 Sept. 1989)
Amendments,

1. Public Sec urity (First Amendme nt) Act, 2047 (1991) 2047-12-29
(12 April 1991)
2. Public Sec urity (Sec ond Amendme nt) Act, 2048 (1991) 2048-7-28
(14 No v. 1991)
3. Some Nepa l Acts Amendme nt Act, 2048 (1992) 2049-1 -8
(20 April 1992)
4. Republic Stre ngthening a nd Some Nepal Laws
Amendment Act, 2066 (2010)
1 2066-10-7
(21 Jan 2010) Act Number 5 of the Year 2046 (1989)
An Act made to provide for provisions to maintain p ublic security

Preamble
: Wherea s, it is expedient to provide for timely pr ovisions 2to hold a
person under pre ventive dete ntion or under a n area confinement for the purpose of
ma inta ining so vereignty, integrity or law and order situation of Nepal or for
interest of ge nera l public or harmonious relations subsisting among the pe ople of
various caste, tribe or communities.

Now, therefore, be it enacte d by H is Majesty the k ing Birendra Bir Bikram
Shah De v, on advice a nd with conse nt of Rastriya Panchay at.

1 This Act came into force on 15 Jestha 2065, ” Pr asasti ” and the wor d “Ki ngdom” has been deleted. 2 Amended by Second Amendment

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1. Short Title and Commencement :
1.1 This Act may be called “Public Sec urity Act, 2046 (1989)”.
1.2 This Act shall come into force immedia te ly.
2.
Definition :
2.1 In this Act, unless the subje ct or context otherwis e requires;
2.1.1. “An order of preve ntive detention” means a n order issued pursuant to
3Sub-section 3. 1.
2.1.2 An order of area c onfinement means an order i ssue d pursua nt to
4 Sub-
section 3.2…. 5
2.1.3 Loca l Authority mea ns “Chief District O fficer and this e xpression
a lso inc lude an authority who disc harges the functi ons of c hief
district officer in his/her abse nce.
63. Power to issue an order :
3.1 If there is rea sonable and a dequate ground to immediate ly pre vent a
person from acting in a ny ma nner prejudic ial to the so vere ignty,
inte grity or public peace and order of Nepa l, the L ocal Authority
may issue a n order to keep suc h person under pre ven tive de tention
for a specified period and at a spec ified place.
3.2 If there is reasona ble and a dequate ground to pre vent a person from
acting in a ny ma nner pre judic ial to intere st of ge n eral public or
harmonious re lations subsisting among various caste s, tribes or
communitie s, the Loca l Authority ma y issue a ny of t he follow ing
orders for kee ping suc h person under area confineme nt.
3.2.1 Not to reside in a spec ified place of Nepa l.
3.2.2 Not to e nter in a spec ifie d place of Nepal.
3 Amended by Second Amendment. 4 Amended by Second Amendment. 5 Omi tted by Some Nepal Acts Amendment Act, 2048 6 Amended by Second Amendment.

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3.2.3 To reside only in a specified place of Nepa l .
73.3 The M inistry of Home Affairs ma y, in order to p re vent a person from
doing a ny act which may cause an ad verse e ffect on security, peace
and order of Nepa l or on friendly re la tions with fo re ign nations or on
harmonious re lations subsisting am ong the people of various c lass or
regions, issue an order to pre vent him/her from goi ng outside the
territory of Nepal.
4.
Procedures relating to an order :
84.1 The Loca l Authority sha ll while issuing an ord er pursua nt to Sub-
sections 3.1 or 3. 2 set out the reasons and grounds and provide the
said order to the c oncerned person. The Local Autho rity sha ll a lso
submit the informa tion thereof to the Ministry of H ome affa irs along
with a copy of the order.
4.2 If a n order is issue d for holding a person und er pre ventive de tention
the Local Authority sha ll forward a notice thereof a long w ith a copy
to the D istrict Court of the district where the sai d order was issued.
94.3 If the reasons and grounds of an order issue d Pursuant to Sub-
sections 3.1 or 3.2 no longer e xist, the Local Auth ority shall
abrogate such an order within Twe nty Four hours fro m the date of
cause of ac tion.
5.
Validity period of the order of preventive detentio n :
5.1 Unless abrogated earlier, a n order of preve nti ve de tention issued
Pursuant to Section 3.1
10 sha ll be e ffec tive for a term not exceeding
with Ninety da ys from the date of issuance.
7 Inserted by Firs t Amendment 8. Amended by Second Amendment. 9 Inserted by Second Amendment. 10 Amended by Second Amendment.

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115.2 Notwithstanding anything conta ine d in Sub-sect ion 5.1, the duration
of pre ventive dete ntion order sha ll be as follows i n the follow ing
c ircumstances,-
5.2.1 In case the Loca l Authority deems it nece ssa ry to exte nd the
dura tion of pre ve ntive de tention for more tha n N ine ty days to
hold a person under pre ve ntive detention, he /she sh all
forward it in writing to the M inistry of Home affa i rs along
with the reasons and grounds there of. If the M inist ry of
Home Affa irs approves it, the order of pre ventive d ete ntion
sha ll be rema ine d va lid for a term not exceeding wi th Six
months from the date of issuance.
5.2.2 If it deems necessary to hold a person under pre ventive
dete ntion for a period longer than Six months, the M inistry of
Home Affairs shall ta ke advice with the Ad visory Bo ard
constitute d pursuant to Section 7. If the said Boar d forwards
its opinion to the sa id Ministry sta ting it is rea s onable to
exte nd the dura tion of pre ve ntive dete ntion, the or der of
pre ventive detention shall be exte nde d for a period not
exceeding Twe lve months from the da te of issuance.
6.
Duration of an order of area confinement order :
6.1 Unless abrogated earlier, an order of area con finement sha ll rema in
valid for a period not exceeding Thirty days from t he date of
issua nce.
126.2 Notw ithstanding anything contained in Sub-secti on 6.1, if it is
necessary to e xte nd the duration of a n order of are a confineme nt
issue d pursua nt to this Act for more than Thirty da ys, the Local
Authority sha ll forward it in writing to the Minist ry of Home Affa irs
11 Amended by First Amendment. 12 Amended by First Amendment.

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a long w ith reasons and grounds thereof. If the Mini stry of Home
Affa irs deems it rea sonable and a ppro ves it the sa i d order shall be
exte nde d for a period not e xceeding Ninety days fro m the date of
issua nce.
6A.
13……………..
7. Constitution of an Advisory B oard
: For the purpose of this Act,
Governme nt of Nepal ma y, on consultation w ith the C hie f-Justice,
constitute a n Advisory Board under the c hairpersons hip of a sitting judge of
the Supreme Court a nd two other members sha ll be fr om sitting or retired
judges of the Supreme Court.
8. Procedure s of the Advisory B oard
:
8.1. If the Ministry of Home Affa irs deems nece ssa ry to hold a person
under pre ventive detention for more than Six months
14 it shall
submit a report to the Advisory Board a long w ith re a sons a nd
grounds there of, an ad vice give n by Loca l Authority in this re gard, If
any, and the c ompla int lodged on be ha lf of de tainee , if any, w ith
Governme nt of Nepa l.
8.2 The Ad visory Board sha ll, upon considering the report as well as
other docume nt rece ived pursua nt to Sub-sec tion 8.1 and stateme nt
or c larifica tion subm itted by de tainee pursua nt to Sub-section 8. 3 if
any, forwards its opinion as to whether it is nece ssary to exte nd the
dura tion of pre ventive de tention or not.
8.3 The Ad visory Board, if it deems necessary, may ma ke a n inquiry
with the person held under pre ventive de tention, or see k his/her
c larification in this re gard.

13 Omi tted by Some Nepal Acts Amendment Act, 2048. 14 Amended by First Amendment.

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9. Power to abrogate order :
9.1 The Loca l Authority ma y abroga te any order iss ued by him/her at
any time be fore the termina tion of the duration of an order.
9.2 The Go vernment of Nepal may abrogate any order of pre ventive
dete ntion
15and any order of area confinement .
10.
Penalty :
10.1 The Loca l Authority….
16 may impose an imprisonme nt for a term
not exceeding Six m onths or impose a fine up to One Thousa nd
Rupees on a person who violate s an order issued pur suant
17to Sub-
section 3.2.
10.2 An appea l ma y be file d in
18Court of Appeal aga inst an order of
punishment ma de pursuant to Sub-sec tion 10. 1.
10.3 If a n appeal is field pursua nt to Sub-section 10.2
19the Court of
Appea l sha ll dispose the appea l upon confining only in the matter as
to whe ther the sa id order is c ontrave ned or not.
11.
No question may be raised in any court : No question ma y be ra ised in
any court a ga inst an order issue d
20under this Act .
12. Proce dure s to be followe d in the cou rse of release
: In the course of
releasing a person he ld under pre ventive detention, such person shall be
release d in front of c oncerned distric t c ourt judge or the Re gistrar
( Shresteda r) of the sa id c ourt in the absence of a judge.

15 Amended by Some Nepal Acts A mendment Act, 2048. 16 Omi tted by Some Nepal Acts Amendment Act, 2048 17 Amended by Second Amendment. 18 Amended by Admi nis tration of J ustice Act, 2048 19 Amended by Admi nis tration of J ustice Act, 2048 20 Amended by First Amendment.

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2112A . Entitlement to get compensation for mala fide preventive
detention :
12A. 1 Notwithsta nding a nything conta ine d in Section 11, if a person he ld
under pre ventive detention deem s tha t he /she was ke pt under
pre ventive dete ntion in c ontrave ntion of this Act o r in bad faith, may
file a ca se before District Court during a term of de tention or within
a period of Thirty Five da ys from his/her release u pon c laim ing for a
compe nsa tion from the Loca l Authority who issued su c h order.
12A. 2 If the c laim mentione d in c ompla int lodge d pu rsuant to Sub-section
12A. 1, is prove d, the district court may pa ss a jud gme nt for
pro viding a reasona ble c ompe nsa tion to the complain ant from the
Governme nt of Nepal upon considering the fac tors su c h as the
dura tion of pre ventive de te ntion, the a ge and socia l prestige of
deta inee and ec onomic loss face d by him/her due to pre ventive
dete ntion.
12A. 3 The Local Authority ma y request the office of government attorney
to defe nd him /her in re lation to the com pla int lodg e d pursuant to
Sub-section 12A.1 and government a ttorney sha ll de f end him/her in
court of law.
13.
Departmental action : If it is pro ved tha t an order issued by Local
Authority under this Act was issued in bad faith, suc h authority shall be
subjected to de partmenta l ac tion and be punished.
14.
Power to frame Rules : The Go vernment of Nepa l may frame necessary
Rule s to carry out the objective s of this Ac t.
15.
Repeal and saving :
15.1 Public Sec urity Act, 2018 (1961), is, hereby, repealed.
21 Inserted by Second Amendment.

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15.2 The provisions of this Act sha ll be applied w ith respect to the order
issue d under P ublic Security Act, 2018 (1961).